How the ‘For the Strength of Youth’ Guide Can Help Youth Become Powerful Speakers

Have you ever listened to a powerful speaker and thought, “I wish I could speak like that”?

Or have you ever been asked to speak in Church and thought, “I don’t even know where to begin”?

Recently, I visited a Latter-day Saint ward in Utah and heard two powerful and persuasive speakers. Their assigned topics were compelling. They spoke clearly and with conviction. They used stories and scriptures. They testified and invited listeners to do something.

Who were the speakers? They were Joseph McPherson, a deacon, and Samantha Starnes, a young woman of similar age. What made their talks so good when other young people struggle? They were speaking about principles found in the “For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices.”

After the meeting, I asked the bishop if Joseph and Samantha are unusually gifted or if this happens regularly. He reported that this happens almost every week. He said, “My counselor, Brother Eduardo Zanatta, not only assigns youth to speak, but he helps them prepare.”

Youth are assigned a principle from the “For the Strength of Youth” guide. Everything they need is already right there in a clear and concise format. Joseph was assigned “Make Inspired Choices.” Samantha was assigned “Walk in God’s Light.”

As they study the assigned principle in the FSY guide, they are encouraged to think of a personal experience that illustrates the principle and include quotes from the guide and at least one scripture also found in the guide. They are then encouraged to conclude with a testimony of the Savior.

The Book of Mormon prophet Enos said that more than just believing the words he had often heard his father teach, those words “sunk deep into my heart” (Enos 1:3).

These ward leaders are not simply helping members learn about the principles in the guide, but by having the youth teach them, they are helping these principles to sink deep into their hearts.

Their choice to use the FSY guide as a seedbed for talks in sacrament meeting is helping youths like Joseph and Samantha learn more about the principles that will help them make inspired choices in their lives.

Most importantly, they are becoming lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ and learning for themselves that what Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught in October 2022 general conference is true: “To be very clear, the best guide you can possibly have for making choices is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the strength of youth.”