Virginia Youth Share Talents and Testimonies in Youth-Focused Sacrament Meeting

On Sunday, August 10 — the day after the Winchester Virginia Temple groundbreaking — sacrament meeting in the Winchester Ward was unlike any meeting Winchester Virginia Stake President Aaron Blight had ever attended.

More than 30 youth sat on the stand, participating in nearly every aspect of the meeting — conducting music, giving talks, playing the organ, saying prayers and singing in the choir.

Elder Robert M. Daines — General Authority Seventy and Second Counselor in the United States Northeast Area Presidency — attended the unique sacrament meeting, having presided at the temple groundbreaking the day before.

Elder Daines said that from the opening notes to the closing song, the sacrament meeting that youth were involved with planning and carried out was ”one of the most inspiring, substantive, Christ-centered sacrament meetings I’ve attended.”

He added, “The best sacrament meetings allow us to see that our Heavenly Father is active in people’s lives and how others are trying to follow His Son.”

Read this related article from the Church News What is the role of adult leaders in letting youth lead?

Connecting Ward Families

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Bowser gave the concluding talk of the meeting, in which she shared experiences that helped her grow closer to the Savior.

She said she was nervous to tell the stories because they are deeply personal to her, but she felt the Holy Ghost prompting her to share them with her ward.

“The youth of this generation are building relationships with our Father in Heaven, receiving personal revelation and learning things worth sharing if we give them the chance to,” she said.

Mercedes and her family moved into the Winchester Ward about four years ago; since then, she said, there’s been a slight emptiness in her heart that used to be filled with the love and community of the ward she grew up in.

That Sunday, however, her heart once again was full, she said.

“As I gave my talk and bore my testimony, I remember looking out over my ward family and feeling connected to them in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.”

A special moment for Jaxon Custer, 12, was gathering with other youth for a group hug after the meeting. “I really felt the Spirit in that room when we were all together celebrating.”

Missionary Opportunities

The meeting proved to be a missionary experience for some youth, as the full-time missionaries encouraged the youth to invite family, friends and neighbors to Church that week.

That Sunday, the ward achieved what Bishop B.J. Custer called “a historic milestone,” with a record sacrament meeting attendance of 236.

Jaxon Custer played the organ for the opening hymn and invited his piano teacher to attend the meeting.

“I was really happy when she showed up to support me, and I think she really liked it and felt the Spirit,” Jaxon said.

Potential Before Perfection

Siblings Logan and Monica Moeck, ages 14 and 12, moved into the ward with their family about a month before the program.

Their mother, Sarah Moeck, appreciated that the ward looked for her children’s strengths and invited them to participate despite being new.

She also admitted the meeting wasn’t perfect. People made mistakes during the music, and the speakers were nervous. But for her, it was “one of the most spiritual sacrament meetings” she had ever attended.

“You could feel the love the Lord has for these kids and see their amazing potential,” she said. “It was such a testament to me that the Lord doesn’t care about our perfection but about our efforts and our intentions.”

Logan, who conducted the music, said he messed up several times during the program. Afterwards, however, he said people in the ward told him he did a great job.

“I’m really glad I participated,” he said.

Cultivating the Rising Generation

When President Blight presented the idea for a youth-led sacrament meeting at a bishop’s council meeting, Bishop Custer knew it was something his ward had to do.

“I felt [this] type of meeting would be a more natural and easy way for the youth, collectively, to share their talents, nudge them out of their comfort zones and give them an opportunity to open their mouths and share their testimonies,” Bishop Custer said. “What became evident is that the gospel of Jesus Christ is working in their lives.”

Tyler Nelson, 15, currently serves as his ward’s teachers quorum president. He got out of his comfort zone by speaking during the meeting about what he learned from the For the Strength of Youth conference about looking to Christ in everything.

He said he felt accomplished after giving his talk, and the other talks and musical numbers helped him feel the Spirit.

President Blight called the youth the “rising generation of the Church.”

“Involving our youth in the planning and execution of meetings and activities gives them the opportunity to not only develop their talents and testimonies for tomorrow but also serve and inspire others — including adults — today.”