Consider Conference: Faithful to the End

by FAIR Staff (05/19/2024 3:10 pm)

2024 April General Conference, Saturday Evening Session

Faithful to the End

Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus
Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

Main Points

Sister Spannaus addressed her remarks to the youth of the Church.
By His hand, you will be able to bring down every Goliath that appears in your life.

Gospel Principles taught

Our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, Agency, The Atonement, Faith in Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Sacrament, Obedience.

Gospel Doctrine taught

The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Ordinances and Covenants, Commandments, God the Father, Jesus Christ, The Plan of Salvation, Agency, Other, The Covenant Path.

Scriptures

1 Samuel 17, 1 Samuel 17:40, 45–49, Matthew 22:36–38, Alma 7:11–14 , 1 Nephi 7:12, 3 Nephi 14:24–27, Doctrine and Covenants 6:36, Doctrine and Covenants 6:33–34, Alma 5:46, 1 Nephi 8:19, 30; 15:24–25; Helaman 3:29–30, 3 Nephi 22:13.

Other Sources

For the Strength of Youth, 32, “Young Women Theme” and “Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Theme,”

Related talks:

Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,”
Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity”
Russell M. Nelson, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum,”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “For the Strength of Youth: The Savior’s Message to You,”
Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony,”

Look for Jesus Christ:

Testimony of Christ.
- David chose to put his trust in Jesus Christ.
- Having faith in Jesus Christ means to fully trust His wisdom, His timing, His love, and His power to atone for our sins.
- There is joy in being faithful to the God of the universe, the Savior of the world, the King of kings. There is joy in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. God is our Father. He knows your heart’s desires and your possibilities, and He trusts you. Dear youth, Jesus Christ will help you to be faithful to the end. Of these truths I bear my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Description of His Teachings.
- Christ taught the difference between a house built on rock and one on sand.
Description of His Atonement.
- When Jesus Christ came to earth, He suffered for our sins, and He took upon Himself our sorrows, our pains, our weaknesses, and our physical and mental illnesses. That’s why He knows how to help us.
- “Repentance isn’t punishment for sin; it is the way the Savior frees us from sin. To repent means to change―to turn away from sin and toward God. It means to improve and receive forgiveness. This kind of change is not a one-time event; it’s an ongoing process.”
Description of His relationship with us.
- Previously, David had fought a lion and also a bear. From his own experience, he knew that God had protected him and made him victorious.
- “God loves you. He is your Father. His perfect love can inspire you to love Him. When your love for Heavenly Father is the most important influence in your life, many decisions become easier.”
- Our personal connection to Jesus Christ will give us the courage and confidence to move forward amid people who do not respect our beliefs or who bully us.
Words of Christ.
- “Look unto me in every thought.”

Inspiring Words & Phrases

I have a message for you, the youth of the Church of Jesus Christ.
While David used only one stone to kill Goliath, he was prepared with five. With five! This makes me think about how I can prepare myself to face the world.
To David, the cause of God was the most important cause. So, full of faith in a God who would not abandon him, he gathered five smooth stones, took up his sling, and went to face the giant.
Loving God is the first great commandment.
Our love for God and our close relationship with Him give us the strength we need to transform our hearts and more easily overcome our challenges.
When Jesus Christ came to earth, He suffered for our sins, and He took upon Himself our sorrows, our pains, our weaknesses, and our physical and mental illnesses. That’s why He knows how to help us.
Having faith in Jesus Christ means to fully trust His wisdom, His timing, His love, and His power to atone for our sins.
We can overcome this fallen world because He overcame it first.
Everything changes when I know who I really am.
Nothing is more liberating than feeling God’s forgiveness and knowing that we are clean and reconciled with Him. Forgiveness is possible for everyone.
The covenants we make with God, such as those we make in the ordinance of baptism, give us access to the power of godliness.
How can we draw upon this power of Jesus Christ? Obeying our covenants and increasing our faith in Jesus Christ are key.
Our testimony is built by personal spiritual experiences in which we recognize the divine influence in our lives. No one can take that knowledge from us. Knowing what we know from having lived our spiritual experiences is priceless. Being true to that knowledge gives us freedom. It gives us joy!
If we love the truth, we will seek it, and once we find it, we will defend it.
There is joy in doing good. There is joy in being faithful to the God of the universe, the Savior of the world, the King of kings. There is joy in being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
God is our Father. He knows your heart’s desires and your possibilities, and He trusts you.

Lists

In the past year since this new Young Women Presidency was called, they have met with youth throughout the world and have:

studied the teachings of Christ together.
sung songs.
made new friends.
served with you in our communities.
been strengthened by listening to your testimonies at youth conferences and world events
worshiped together in the house of the Lord.
Shared a message from our Lord Jesus Christ.

David’s stones represent different strengths we need to be triumphant in our own lives:

My love for God
- Loving God is the first great commandment
- Our love for God helps us build a close relationship with Him.
- Our love for God gives us strength to transform our hearts
- Our love for God gives us strength to more easily overcome our challenges
My faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ means:
- to fully trust His wisdom
- To fully trust His timing
- To fully trust His love
- To fully trust His power to atone for our sins.
My knowledge of my true identity
- My most important identities are as a child of God, a child of the covenant, and a disciple of Jesus Christ.
- Everything changes when I know who I really am.
My daily repentance
- Nothing is more liberating than feeling God’s forgiveness.
- Nothing is more liberating than knowing that we are clean.
- Nothing is more liberating than knowing we are reconciled with Him.
- Forgiveness is possible for everyone.
My access to God’s power
- The covenants we make with God give us access to the power of godliness.
- God’s power is a real power that helps us face challenges,
- God’s power is a real power that helps us make good decisions,
- God’s power is a real power that helps us increase our capacity to endure difficult situations.
- God’s power is a real power that helps us grow in the specific abilities that we need.
- Covenants connect us to Heavenly Father and the Savior.
- Covenants increase God’s power in our lives.
- “A house doesn’t survive in a storm because the house is strong. It also doesn’t survive just because the rock is strong. The house survives the storm because it is firmly attached to that strong rock. It’s the strength of the connection to the rock that matters.” (Uchtdorf)
My testimony
- is built by personal spiritual experiences in which we recognize the divine influence in our lives.
- No one can take that knowledge from us.
- Knowing what we know from having lived our spiritual experiences is priceless.
- Being true to that knowledge gives us freedom.
- Being true to that knowledge gives us joy!

Christ took upon Himself:

our sorrows
our pains
our weaknesses
our physical illnesses
our mental illnesses.

My most important identities are:

I am a child of God.
I am a child of the covenant.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Thinking about the Savior gives us clarity of mind:

to make decisions
to act without fear
to say no to what is contrary to God’s teachings

There is joy in:

Praying every day
Reading in the Book of Mormon every day
Partaking in the Sacrament every Sunday
Going to seminary
Doing good
There is joy in doing good.
being faithful to the God of the universe, the Savior of the world, the King of kings.
being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Invitations/Challenges

Christ invites us to keep Him in our thoughts constantly; He tells us, “Look unto me in every thought.”
I invite you to meet with your class, quorum, or family and think about what other strengths you need to acquire to remain faithful to God and, therefore, overcome the world.

Equations

Our love for God + our close relationship with Him = the strength we need

Blessings/Promises

The stone of faith in Jesus Christ will defeat any “giant” in our lives.
“Covenants connect you to Heavenly Father and the Savior. They increase God’s power in your life.”
Thinking about the Savior gives us clarity of mind to make decisions, to act without fear, and to say no to what is contrary to God’s teachings.
Dear friends, Christ is eager to accompany us on the journey of our lives. I promise you, as you hold on to the iron rod, you will walk hand in hand with Jesus Christ. He will be guiding you, and He will be teaching you. By His hand, you will be able to bring down every Goliath that appears in your life.

Stories:

The story of David and Goliath, from the Old Testament. During a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines, a giant Philistine named Goliath made a challenge of single combat every morning and evening. The soldiers would not accept that challenge, but David, a young shepherd, did. He had fought both a lion and a bear and knew by his own experience that the Lord could protect him and give him victory. He selected five stones for his sling and went to battle Goliath. The first stone he threw killed Goliath.
When I doubt my abilities, I often repeat to myself in my mind or out loud, “I am a daughter of God, I am a daughter of God,” as many times as I need until I again feel confident to keep going.
When my day is difficult and I feel like I can’t take any more, thinking about Christ brings me peace and gives me hope.

Application Ideas

Brainstorm a list of ideas of how you might think about the Savior more, especially when you are making decisions. Choose one of those ideas to implement each day this week.
Meet with your class, quorum, or family and discuss what strengths you need to acquire to remain faithful to God and, therefore, overcome the world. Based on your discussion, make a goal together.
Find 6 stones and write one of Sister Spannaus’ powerful words on each one: love, faith, identity, repentance, power (or ‘covenant’) and testimony. Put these stones somewhere that you will see them often throughout the day.
Take the list above “There is joy in” and try an experiment (like in Alma 32) upon Sister Spannaus’ words. Try to prayerfully incorporate this list into your daily life this week. Write about your experience in your journal.

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