News Release

Church Leader Speaks to 1,000 Young New Zealanders

Elder O. Vincent Haleck Urges Youth: 'Strengthen Your Faith in Christ’

Elder O. Vincent Haleck, First Counsellor in the Pacific Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently encouraged over 1,000 young New Zealanders to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.

The occasion was a five-day youth conference for young Latter-day Saints from Auckland, held at Kings College, Otahuhu.

“My young friends, what a great opportunity you have to be together,” he said.

“It is our desire that these conventions will serve to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ as you mingle and renew friendships and make new ones.  I hope these are the kinds of friendships that will last and be a strength to each of you.  Your parents and others of their generation did not have this blessing which you are experiencing in your day.”

Elder Haleck continued: “You are at the beginning of another year in your lives, 2015.  It is an exciting time to welcome a new year filled with great potential for good and possbilities for it to bless our lives now and hopefully in the future.  Because of a loving Heavenly Father who gave us the freedom to choose, a great deal of this year's outcomes will depend largely on each of you and the choices you will make.”

“We are here to prepare to return home to our Heavenly Father.  We have come to earth to gain a physical body like Heavenly Father and his beloved son Jesus Christ.  We are to learn from this earthly experience those lessons that will bless us here and after our time on earth.  Heavenly Father knew that we would face challenges here and make mistakes.  Thus to help us to repent of those mistakes he has provided us a Saviour so that through the process of repentance we might return back home being more like him in this life.”

Elder Haleck posed two questions to the young people: “Who do you want to become?” and “What changes will help you get there?”

Speaking of the challenges of life, including making mistakes, he said, “I bear you my witness of the Saviour, even the beloved Son of the Father, Jesus Christ.  Through his atoning sacrifice he has paid the price of justice to allow us, through sincere faith and repentance, to be made whole. He has paid for our sins.”

Elder Haleck noted that many young people, and those of other ages, often feel they are not good enough or that they cannot change their lives for the better.  “You are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father who wants you to succeed in mortality,” he said. “He has restored His gospel and through the atonement of the Saviour you are empowered to make the changes in your life to become more like the Saviour.”

The five-day youth conference also included sports, cultural activities, service projects and workshops on various topics including using social media in positive ways.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organises similar youth activities in the summer months in many places around the world.  The purpose of these conferences is to help young people strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ, learn skills, socialise and have fun.

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