Elder and Sister Renlund Visit Festinord Young Adult Conference in Sweden

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Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife, Ruth, visited the Festinord Young Single Adult conference in Göteborg, Sweden, on Thursday, August 1, 2024, greeting each of the 500 attendees before speaking at a devotional.

“I feel like I have come home,” said Elder Renlund, who as a teenager lived with his family in Göteborg. It was during that time he began his journey to becoming a true convert and follower of Jesus Christ, he said.

Festinord is an annual conference for young single adults created for the Nordic and Baltic countries, with the location rotating between Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. For five days each year, young adults gather together to strengthen their faith, forge new friendships and enjoy wholesome activities. Now in its 50th year, with the 2024 theme “Rejoice in the Lord – always,” the conference gathered attendees from 28 different countries.

In his message, Elder Renlund referred to Swedish history and the mistakes a Swedish king made by being too greedy when building a ship. The king was free to build any type of ship he wanted, but he was not free to change the laws of gravity that applied to that ship. As a result, the Vasa ship sank on its maiden voyage not long after leaving the harbor. Elder Renlund used this story to illustrate that while we can metaphorically build any ship we want, we cannot choose the consequences of not following nature’s laws.

Elder Renlund encouraged attendees to build the kind of ship God wants them to build by understanding and increasing faith in three concepts:

1. God’s plan of salvation
2. Jesus Christ and His Atonement
3. The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

“I know,” he testified, “I absolutely know that Jesus Christ lives. I absolutely know that.”

Sister Renlund talked about an experience in Johannesburg, South Africa, when she decided to ignore the rules given by a guide during a safari. “I tried to figure out a way around the rules instead of seeing that behind those rules were my protection and safety,” she said. “I’m a very fine rationalizer and thought of a reason why those rules didn’t apply to me.”

She compared these types of safety rules with God’s commandments. Behind each commandment is safety and happiness, she said. “If we see our Heavenly Father’s love behind each of those commandments, it makes it easier for us to follow them.”

Several attendees said Elder and Sister Renlund’s visit and messages left a profound impact on them and inspired them to deepen their faith and live more fully as disciples of Jesus Christ. “I really liked it,” said one attendee. “It gave me a lot of insight into what I need to do and how to continue on. And I loved how friendly Elder Renlund was. I felt the Spirit.”

After the devotional, Elder and Sister Renlund participated in a Q&A session where they answered questions from young single adults.

The Renlunds were accompanied by Elder Alan T. Phillips, General Authority Seventy and Second Counselor in the Europe North Area Presidency, as well as Area Seventies and stake leaders.