Press Forward with Faith, Church Leaders Tell Young Adults at Face to Face Event 

Elders Ulisses Soares and Craig C. Christensen participated in a live 90-minute Worldwide Devotional Face to Face broadcast for young adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on September 15, 2019.  

Downloadable video: B-roll | SOTs

“Our hope tonight is that we can help you find answers to your questions directly from our Heavenly Father, who loves you so much,” Elder Soares said Sunday. Hope means, “to know that you can go forward facing the challenges in this life, counting on someone that will guide and lead you and help and support you.”  

Elder Soares, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Christensen, Utah Area President, addressed a number of topics during the Question & Answer format event including understanding and living gospel truths by asking and receiving answers to questions and finding ways to gain a sense of belonging. 

Leading up to the broadcast, young adults ages 18-30 were encouraged to submit questions to Elder Soares and Elder Christensen on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and other social media channels. 

“I think it’s marvelous for us because we really know what’s going on in their hearts and their minds and we can address them based on the principles of the gospel,” said Elder Soares. “Sometimes you give a beautiful talk and you expect that people catch the feeling of that but it’s better when it’s focused on your personal needs.” 

Elder Soares and Elder Christensen also answered a wide variety of young adults’ questions covering other themes from submissions, such as marriage, returning home early from a Church mission, and facing life challenges. 

“I think we need to remember that we’re here in this world to learn and to grow,” said Elder Christensen, in response to a young woman from Arizona, whose question focused on how to choose the best option when making an important life decision. “Part of this is to prayerfully consider what [you] should do and go forward in faith.” 

In addition to receiving online question submissions from all over the world, the live studio audience event represented the Church’s global membership of Latter-day Saint young adults from more than 20 nations.  

“I think that having this opportunity to send in our questions and share them and have them answer, helps us know that we aren’t alone … we can all find peace and there’s hope for everyone,” said Liliana Tapia, a 21-year-old Latter-day Saint convert from Michoacán, Mexico.

Lily helped host event, which originated from the Brigham Young University broadcasting center in Provo, Utah.   

The live program was Elder Soares’ first worldwide broadcast interaction with young adults since being called to serve in The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in March 2018.  

“It has been delightful and wonderful,” said Elder Soares. “We felt a sweet spirit, just thinking about the worldwide audience we would have.”  

Elder Christensen expressed his love and gratitude for the opportunity to engage with this particular age group. “Clearly we want them to know that God loves them that they can keep trying,” said Elder Christensen. “They don’t have to be perfect, but they keep trying and stay focused on the things that really matter.” 

Additionally, for the first time in a worldwide Face to Face event, Church leaders fielded questions from Portuguese and Spanish-speaking young adults without interpretation support.  

“Sometimes prayers cannot be answered but I believe that Elder Soares and Elder Christensen, their testimony and their experience, can help young adults,” said Chun Shen Hung, a 22-year-old who recently moved to the United States from Taiwan to attend college. 

Priscilla Da Silva, from Porto Alegre, Brazil, attended the event in person and said that she appreciated the Church leaders’ insights and looks forward to finding ways to apply them in her own life. “I want to go home and be able to think about the things that I listened to today and see what the Lord wants me to [do],” said Da Silva.  

Previous Face to Face events and Worldwide Devotionals for young adults have featured Church leaders Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Ruth, and other Church leaders.