1991
Tough Questions, Solid Answers
February 1991

“Tough Questions, Solid Answers,” New Era, Feb. 1991, 38

Tough Questions, Solid Answers

As you study the new brochure on Church standards, New Era articles can be a great help to you.

What difference does it make if I watch a bad movie?

What can I wear to the dance at school?

Does it really matter who my friends are?

Why should I stay morally clean?

They’re tough questions, but a new booklet called For the Strength of Youth, which summarizes Church standards for young people, can help you find the answers. So can New Era articles, which have always supported LDS teenagers in standing up for their beliefs. In fact, by studying the booklet and the New Era together, you can gain some valuable insight into choosing the right.

For the Strength of Youth was introduced during the women’s meeting on September 28, 1990, and in the priesthood session of October general conference. Copies can be obtained at no cost from your bishop or stake president. The pamphlet discusses major areas of importance to young Latter-day Saints, under the headings of dating, dress and appearance, friendshipping, honesty, language, media, mental and physical health, music and dancing, sexual purity, Sunday behavior, spiritual help, and repentance.

President Thomas S. Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, commented about the standards found in For the Strength of Youth: “Joy and happiness come from living the way the Lord wants you to live and from service to God and others. …

“You have a heritage: Honor it.

“You will meet sin: Shun it.

“You have the truth: Live it.

“You have a testimony: Share it”

(Ensign, Nov. 1990, p. 47).

As you read the new brochure, as you talk about it with your friends, your advisers, leaders, and parents, here are some New Era articles that may help move the discussion along:

Dating

  • “Falling in Like,” by Kay Hago, March 1990, p. 27.

  • Q&A, November 1990, p. 16.

  • “Dynamic Dating” (FYI), February 1991, p. 40.

Dress and Appearance

  • “The Strapless Dress,” by Joy S. Lundberg, September 1990, p. 44.

  • “Not Dressed for Success” (FYI), by Lisa A. Johnson, June 1990, p. 40.

  • “Too Much,” by Kirsten Andersen, February 1991, p. 11.

Friendshipping

  • “Good by Association,” by Chris Crowe, May 1990, p. 8.

  • “Looking for the Good” (FYI), by Glenn Jorgenson, April 1990, p. 40.

  • Q&A, January 1991, p. 16.

Honesty

  • “Stand Up and Be Counted,” by Elder James E. Faust, August 1990, p. 5.

  • “Your Test of Courage,” by Elder Boyd K. Packer, March 1990, p. 4.

  • “Drawing Conclusions,” by Zachary Tippetts, August 1990, p. 38.

  • “The Best Policy,” Julius B. Caesar, October 1990, p. 11.

Language

  • “I Took a Stand,” by Susan McKenna, July 1990, p. 38.

  • “The Idaho Spud Year,” by Gail Anderson Newbold, February 1990, p. 28.

Media

  • “Mushrooms, Music, Movies, and Magazines,” by Elder Spencer J. Condie, February 1990, p. 4.

Mental and Physical Health

  • “The Priceless Station Wagon,” by Lana Robison, August 1990, p. 14.

  • Q&A, January 1990, p. 14.

  • “A Plague on the World,” by President Gordon B. Hinckley, July 1990, p. 4.

  • “Wasted,” by Melvin Leavitt, March 1990, p. 52.

Music and Dancing

  • “Seniors’ Prom,” by Vanda Fry, September 1990, p. 32.

  • Q&A, February 1989, p. 18.

Sexual Purity

  • “V.I.S.,” by Elizabeth Cottrell, March 1990, p. 24.

  • Q&A, February 1990, p. 16.

Sunday Behavior

  • “The Way of Wisdom,” by Jill Hemming, February 1990, p. 44.

  • “The Goal Keeper,” by Lisa Johnson, February 1990, p. 32.

  • “I Miss the City,” by Rolf Devries, July 1990, p. 48.

Repentance

  • “My Reputation,” by Teresa B. Clark, June 1990, p. 48.

  • “Forgiven but Not Forgotten,” by Heather O’Brien, April 1990, p. 12.

Spiritual Help

  • “Are You There?” by Brad Wilcox, April 1990, p. 46.

  • “The Guide,” by Robert Marcum, March 1990, p. 10.

  • “Courting the Spirit,” by Elder Carlos E. Asay, August 1990, p. 32.

Worthiness and Service

  • “Secrets of the Second Mile,” by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, May 1990, p. 4.

  • “What Comes Around, Goes Around,” by Lisa A. Johnson, June 1990, p. 28.

For additional articles and stories in the New Era, check in the index that appears in the December issue under such headings as adversity, attitude, choice and accountability, church attendance, decision making, etiquette, example, friends, goals, integrity, modesty, morality, movies, music, peer pressure, standards, temptation, and Word of Wisdom.

Photography by Steve Bunderson

As you study For the Strength of Youth and the New Era, you’ll find help in dealing with some of the tough issues of teenage life. Stick by your standards, stand firm and strong, and you’ll find, as President Monson said, that you can “chart an undeviating course toward eternal life” (Ensign, Nov. 1990, p. 45).