For the Strength of Youth (FSY) Conference: A Great Blessing

My name is Nathaniel Shane Hansen. I am from the India Bengaluru Mission Branch. I reside in Jagital, which is 200 kilometres away from the church in Hyderabad. Every Sunday we have sacrament meeting on the phone. And we have a home group, which is held in my home.

I had a wonderful opportunity to attend FSY in Hyderabad, which was held for six days from May 21, 2018, to May 26, 2018. It was awesome to be there for six days and learn many different things. We had some workshops. The first one among those was “The Value of Education,” taught by Sister Bharti Sumarajan from Hyderabad. We were taught about the importance of education, how to set goals, how to overcome problems in our career, and how to become a successful person in our life.

The second workshop was taught by Brother Victor Vinod Sumarajan from Hyderabad. It was about social media. He taught us how to use the social media properly, in what ways social media is useful, and how can we spread gospel through social media. He also taught us what is good that we can gain from social media and what is bad that we must avoid on social media. He also taught us that how to control ourselves to avoid too much time on our phones and on social media. He gave us a wonderful biological example of how we can get addicted to such things. It was about dopamine, which controls our emotions. We also learned how to set ourselves free from that addiction.

The third workshop was taught by Sister Linda from Hyderabad. She taught us about “Living with All and Loving All.” This was my favourite workshop in which I have learned to not bully others. I also learned that if someone is being bullied and we don’t stop it, we are part of that incident. So in order to make ourselves not a part of that incident, we must stop that incident.

The fourth workshop was taught by Elder Williams of the Seventy and his wife, Sister Williams. It was about “Dare to Stand Alone and Dare to Be Different.” We were taught about how to face the situation of being different from all others by being Mormon, especially because other people do not understand the standards of our Church very quickly. And people make fun of us despite understanding our standards. As an example given by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he had an experience being bullied and made fun of by his friends. They were drinking alcohol and asked him to do so also. When he said no, they made fun of him. Elder Bednar stood up for his beliefs.

We might face situations like these, where we have to stand alone. When we stand up for our standards, we are not really alone but with our Heavenly Father.

At FSY we had dances, service projects, and variety shows which were very entertaining. And I feel very much blessed to have this FSY for the youth to grow up and build a strong testimony by doing these activities spiritually and physically. And when the time came to return back home, all the faces in that place became dull and sad.

This conference also helps us make friends all over the nation, which is an opportunity only very few people get in their lives. I know that this Church is true. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and loves us very much. And They never ever want us to go in a wrong way. They only want us to have all these experiences and grow up with a strong testimony which cannot be broken. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that President Russell M. Nelson is the true prophet chosen by Heavenly Father. I say all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. —Nathaniel

First of all, FSY was a great blessing to our country. We have to show gratitude towards the foundations and the pillars of the conference which includes the Church, the leaders of the Church, the members, and especially the young single adults, who were the parental guides to all the youth throughout FSY.

Another great blessing for us was meeting Elder and Sister Bednar, and Elder and Sister Yan. The questioning session chaired by Elder David A. Bednar was a fantastic way to interact with the youth and clear up the questions and doubts for every youth. While answering questions, he said to all of us, “If any one of you think that I cannot answer the questions you ask, then you must repent.” That showed his boldness, and when the youth asked him questions, for some questions he handed the microphone to the other leaders who were seated along with him—that showed his humility. I remember one question that a sister asked Elder Bednar: “What should we do to prepare to become a missionary?” Elder Bednar handed the microphone to Elder William, who asked the sister, “What do you think you should do to prepare for the missionary work?” She said we have to follow the commandments, we have to seek the Holy Ghost, we have to ponder on the scriptures in our daily scripture studies, share the gospel. Elder William replied, “You have got your answers sister.” And such great joy we felt by the Holy Ghost at such moments.

We are also thankful for President and Sister Natrajan, who took care of the Youth. They were so good to us. The youth who met here were angels—how else to describe them? They were such good people who, as the time went on, eventually became families to us. They were supportive to us in all the ways they could be. The group work, teamwork with our YSA counselors to do all the activities, the workshops and scripture study times were the best! The time spent in dance and games were amazing, and we actually enjoyed them a lot.

The last day we all were in tears because we all will miss this FSY family. That was truly an emotional day for us.

I know all these blessings were sent to us by God, I know we have a living prophet, and this is the Church of Jesus Christ. I know all that I say is true and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. —Thanush

I am Keerthana, and I would like to tell you about my experience at FSY. We learnt many things in FSY—the workshops about education, serving others, not bullying others, and family history work really inspired me.

I learned many things when Brother and Sister Natarajan were teaching, like the lesson on how to move on. It was really good. It gave an answer to every youth who is struggling with certain problems in life and who gets depressed. Both of my counselors, Sister Shilpa and Brother Rakesh, helped and encouraged me a lot.

I felt happy when I saw Elder Bednar and the interaction between him was really good. The question was asked by one of the sisters about how we young women can take Christ’s Atonement as an example to bring other members to church. It has really helped me understand that we need to think about Christ’s example to others, though He did not commit any sins, He sacrificed His life for us because He loves us.

We also need to become an example to others like Christ, and as we attend church, we can become a great example to others and help them attend church.

I miss FSY. If I got a chance to go to FSY again, I would love to go. I know this Church is true, Book of Mormon is true, and the Prophet Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. —Keerthana

My name is Deby. I really thank my Heavenly Father and my branch president, Raja Solomon, for giving me this great opportunity because in FSY I really learned many things and built my gospel knowledge. Inspiring talks from Elder David A. Bednar were very useful to me personally. He told us not to lay aside our standards for anyone. It is a great point that has stayed in my heart. I made many friends who were helpful in my gospel studies. Our counselors, Sister Jasmine Pillai and Brother Nithin, guided us throughout the conference. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. —Deby

This is Pompy. This was my first FSY conference. We got an opportunity to learn so many things and also got a chance to mingle with so many members. We came to the FSY conference with nothing, but as the days passed by, we got so many memories. Now we are not in the FSY conference but still we took so many wonderful memories. We love the FSY conference. —Pompy

I am K. Varun. It was a great time for me spending five days at the FSY conference. I had learned so many things in the conference. The thing which inspired me is “Dare to Be Alone and Dare to Be Different.” I want to apply this principle in my life and to be different from others. I am so excited for the temple in India. I will prepare myself to go to the temple. My FSY counselors were kind to me and my company; the love and care they showed us was wonderful. They were great examples to me. I know that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior and Redeemer—through Him only we can go back to our Heavenly Father. I believe what I share is true. I say these things in the scared name of Jesus Christ, amen. —K. Varun

I’m Prasanna. I’m so glad to share my testimony about my experience at FSY. I have learned about unity and spiritual blessings. Hearing Elder Bednar’s testimony was really inspiring to me and has inspired me to be an agent of God’s work and callings. This is my second youth conference, and FSY is my favorite. I have learned a lot, and I would like to go on a mission and serve people in the world. I say these things in the name Jesus Christ, amen. —Prasanna