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By Sydney Walker, Church News
The music video for the 2023 youth theme song “I Can Do All Things Through Christ” was published on the Church’s Strive to Be YouTube and Instagram accounts on Sunday, January 1.
The youth theme for 2023 comes from Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Filmed entirely in the Dominican Republic with an all Dominican crew and actors, the video follows the story of two youth — a young woman who comes to a fork on a running trail and a young man who gets injured during a baseball game — and how they receive strength from the Lord amid their hardships.
At the end of the video, the young man and young woman, as well as other youth, are shown following a trail, making a stack of stones called a cairn to point others in the right direction. The video closes with them standing together in front of a scenic vista by water.
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In a scene from the conclusion of the 2023 youth theme music video released Sunday, January 1, 2023, youth make a stack of stones called a cairn to point others in the right direction.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Song’s Message
The song “I Can Do All Things Through Christ” is the title track for the 2023 youth theme album released in October.
Jarica Jamison, a 21-year-old from Smithfield, Utah, is the singer of the 2023 youth theme song. For her, the message of the song is simple yet powerful: “Christ is always there,” she said.
“Anything you feel like you can’t do, He’s always there to help you and be there for you,” Jamison told the Church News. “And if you’re sad or lonely, or you just really need someone, you always know that you can do all things through Christ. He’s there to help you, whether you realize it or not.”
Jamison said the opportunity to sing the song “came at a point in my life where I really needed it.” She remembers feeling the power of the chorus’ lyrics while in the recording studio.
The words in the second verse also resonated with her: “I will cross that desert, though it’s deep and wide. Though I feel the hunger and I hear the lies, I will pray to heaven and the winds will cease.”
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A young woman comes to a fork while running on a trail in the 2023 youth theme music video released Sunday, January 1, 2023. 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
“Every time I sing that verse, you just always know that you can cross that desert, you can cross the sea of feelings and lies, like it says. … It won’t always be easy, and sometimes it’s sad and sometimes you don’t feel like you can do it. But when you have that hunger, like it says ... and you hear all these lies, you can kneel down and pray and know that your Heavenly Father and your Savior will always be there to cease the winds,” Jamison said.
“It’s just a really powerful song, and it’s a lot of who I am, honestly, and what my testimony stands for. I just know that my Savior is there for me, and I can do all things with Him.”
Nik Day, youth music songwriter for the Church, wrote the song “I Can Do All Things Through Christ” and several others on the 2023 album. Of the second verse, he said: “These lines are alluding to the time the Savior spent in the desert being tempted by Satan. I love implementing scripture stories into the songs.”
He added: “When people listen to this album I hope they feel the love of their Savior and an increased desire to follow Him. The theme is, ‘I can do all things through Christ,’ and most of the songs are about Christ and our relationship with Him. I hope they feel empowered and excited to live the gospel.”
More Theme Resources
The youth theme website includes links to the new music’s audio files and sheet music, as well as downloadable PDFs of the theme’s artwork, banners and posters. A link to the youth Instagram account StriveToBe — which will publish content about the theme throughout the year — is also on the website.
Parents and youth leaders are encouraged to teach principles from the theme at home and at church throughout the year. The theme can be used as a topic for sacrament meeting talks given by youth and can provide focus for youth activities, including camps, youth conferences and devotionals. The theme will be emphasized during For the Strength of Youth conferences worldwide.
A worldwide devotional for youth on January 29 will introduce the youth theme and feature Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with Young Men General President Steven J. Lund and Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon.
Copyright 2022 Deseret News Publishing Company.