A group of 27 young women from all over Norway attended the Church’s October 2022 General Conference, after working for nearly two years to prepare for what would prove to be an unforgettable experience.
To prepare for the trip, the young women were encouraged to meet requirements such as earning their own airfare, reading the Book of Mormon from beginning to end, completing one goal in each area of the Children and Youth program, memorizing the Young Women theme in Norwegian and English, being physically fit, and researching 20 ancestral names prior to attending the temple.
After arriving in Salt Lake City, the young women, accompanied by family members and leaders, went to the Conference Center, where they met Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson.
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General Relief Society President Camille N. Johnson (second from right) poses with young women and leaders visiting from Norway at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on October 1, 2022.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
The young women also visited with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Harriet R. Uchtdorf, who showed them Elder Uchtdorf’s ‘pocket-sized’ copy of the new For the Strength of Youth pamphlet that he introduced during the Saturday morning session of general conference.
Cecilie Lundgreen, a second counselor in the Young Women presidency of the Oslo Norway Stake (diocese), who accompanied the young women, said, “I loved seeing the faces of the young women as they realized they were in the presence of one of the Lord’s apostles.”
On Sunday, October 2, the young women attended the live broadcast of Music & the Spoken Word and the Sunday morning session of general conference, where they watched President Russell M. Nelson enter the room and later address a worldwide audience.
The following day, the young women hiked Salt Lake City’s Ensign Peak with Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon. At the summit, President Cordon encouraged the girls to always try to be in a place where they could ‘see more’ of their vision and to never settle for a ‘lesser view’ for themselves. Sister Cordon encouraged them to receive a patriarchal blessing, which provides inspired direction from the Lord and could help them better understand God’s plan for them individually.
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Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon speaks to young women and adults visiting from Norway at Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City on October 3, 2022.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
“I just received an answer to my prayers!” one of the young women said. “I have for the longest time been thinking of getting my patriarchal blessing. Because of Sister Cordon’s encouragement, I know I need mine.”
A pinnacle and unexpected experience for the young women while visiting Salt Lake City was listening to President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, and feeling of his love for them.
During their visit, the young women also performed ancestral baptisms in two temples, participated in two service projects, and visited the FamilySearch Library, the Missionary Training Center and the Brigham Young University campus, where they met Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.
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Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, poses with a group of young women from Norway on the campus Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on October 6, 2022.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
While the young women were serving at the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, Lundgreen said that a temple worker told her with tears in his eyes that in the 25 years he had worked in the temple, he had never felt such a strong witness of the Holy Spirit in the Baptistry. “Your young women are amazing!” he added.
“It warmed my heart to hear this,” said Lundgreen. “These girls worked so hard to get here and they are all temple worthy. I pray that they will remember all that they have experienced during our time in Utah and act on the impressions they have received.”
“This trip really has helped me get a stronger testimony of the truthfulness of this church,” said Linnéa Sofie Høgseth, who lives in the Drammen Norway Stake. “After meeting so many people in Utah that say the Church is true, it helped me to strengthen my own faith and testimony instead of believing because the rest of my family believe.”
