Local Teens Get Together For Youth Conference

By KATELYN GARLICK

Moapa Valley Progress

A local youth conference was held on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2 at the St. Joseph chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Youth Conference is an annual event for kids ages 14-18 put on by the youth program of the Logandale Nevada Stake of the Church. According to Stake leaders it is meant to build faith, strengthen testimonies, develop talents, and associate with peers who share similar beliefs and standards.

“The purpose of youth conference this year was to help install in the lives of the youth a desire and the courage to seek truth,” said Charles Burt, second counselor in the Logandale Nevada Stake. “The author of all truth is our loving Heavenly Father, who is a God to us all. If our youth will seek enteral truth through means that will invite direct communication with our Eternal Father, they can never be led astray.”

The theme for this youth conference was a quote from President of the Church, Russell M. Nelson stating, “Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.” All classes and activities during the conference were modeled around that theme.

On Friday evening, more than 200 youth in attendance were instructed by special guest of the conference, Jason Mow.

Mow, who grew up in Mesa, Arizona, served a career in the U.S. Army; first as a paratrooper and Military Police Officer and later as a select member of an elite unit tasked with conducting hostage resuce missions and counter terrorism operations.

Upon leaving the Army, Mow worked as a police officer in Chandler Arizona where he was critically wounded in the line of duty in 2017. Mow shared his story of hitting a very low point at this time in his life.
“I was not going to let what was happening to me define who I am,” he told the youth. “I let what was happening to me refine who I am.”

Mow taught the youth of something called the warriors ethos. This code of honor reads, “I am a warrior. I do my duty. I serve a cause greater than myself. I am accountable for my actions. I blame no one for my faults and I give thanks for my abilities. I am governed by natural law. My mind is my most powerful weapon. I train to oppose evil in all of its forms. I will never quit, retreat, or cower in the face of the enemy. I protect the weak, assist the elderly, and I care for those in need. I strive for perfection and ask the same from those who serve with me. I lead by example and have the highest moral standard. The truth is my constant companion. When the end comes, I will sing my warrior song and go to my reward with honor and dignity. I am a warrior.”

The youth returned to the chapel building on Saturday morning to have breakfast together.
They were then divided into five teams and each group set off to five different classes.

These sessions focused on the conference theme including Increased Purity, Exact Obedience, Earnest Seeking, Daily Feasting and Temple and Family History Work.

During the class focused on “Temple and Family History Work,” youth were taught how to add memories to the FamilySearch.org website so that future generations would be able to access writings, drawings, photographs and other works from the past. Each youth also all received his/her own journal to keep, so that they would be able to write down their own memories.

In the class entitled “Feasting Daily,” the youth learned about the importance of reading the scriptures and using the resources around them. They did this by playing several fun games that were presented to them.

In the class called “Increase Purity,” the kids learned about putting on the full armor of God.

In the class called “Exact Obedience,” Mow presented a lesson on several warriors which are featured in scriptural accounts and what can be learned from their stories.
“The age of heroes has returned,” Mow said. “If you want to find a hero, look in the mirror at yourself.”

In the “Earnest Seeking” class, youth went on a scriptural scavenger hunt and listened to captivating stories.

The conference closed with a testimony meeting on Saturday evening. This meeting allowed the youth to share their feelings about what they had learned during the conference.