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Young single adults worldwide were invited to participate in the live Face to Face event with Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, November 19. In the weeks prior, participants were invited to submit their questions and then Elder Oaks and Elder Ballard discussed the answers during the live session.
The questions covered a variety of topics including deciding who to marry, bringing inactive parents back to Church, getting the Spirit back when it starts to feel different than it used to and many, many more. What an exciting opportunity this was to have the direct counsel of apostles of the Lord on questions that are common, but difficult among young single adults.
Maybe a question you yourself have been pondering was among those discussed.
To watch the full event, see the video below:
Elder Ballard also addressed students at BYU in a recent devotional where he took on some other difficult questions. Here is a sample of some of those questions and the answers that he gave:
Q: What message do you have for LGBT young single adults?
Elder Ballard: “I want anyone who is a member of the Church, who is gay or lesbian, to know I believe you have a place in the kingdom and recognize that sometimes it may be difficult for you to see where you fit in the Lord’s Church, but you do. We need to listen to and understand what our LGBT brothers and sisters are feeling and experiencing. Certainly, we must do better than we have done in the past so that all members feel they have a spiritual home where their brothers and sisters love them and where they have a place to worship and serve the Lord.”
Q: Where does the Church stand on LGBT civil rights?
Elder Ballard: “We believe that the core rights of citizenship should be protected for all people – for LGBT people, for people of all faiths and for everyone else. In essence, this means fairness for all. We condemn, in the strongest terms, bullying or harassment of any kind. Every person is a child of God. Everyone is entitled to love and respect. We may not agree, but we must never be disagreeable. The reason that the Church supported the LoveLoud festival, here in Utah County, was to send a strong message that LGBT youth or anyone else should never be mistreated and if any were troubled, they should seek help from friends, family members and trained professionals.”
Q: My boyfriend struggles with pornography. What should I do?
Elder Ballard: “Anyone considering marriage deserves transparency and complete honesty with her or his intended spouse. Talk with each other and find out where a person’s heart is and what he or she is doing to become a saint through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
Q: One of my Church leaders did things that hurt my trust. How can I get over it?
Elder Ballard: “Please remember that at some point in your life, you may disappoint and fail others too. Some of those you fail may be family members, Church brothers and sisters and friends. No father, mother or child is perfect; no professor or student is perfect; no missionary or mission president is perfect. The Lord provided the only real solution to living with other mortals. He asks us to forgive and love one another and stay on as the “Trek Continues”— as I said last general conference.”
Q: How can young women who have chosen not to serve a mission feel as valued as those who did?
Elder Ballard: “Please remember President Monson’s announcement about lowering the age of missionary service, ‘Many young women will choose to serve, but they are not under the same mandate to serve as are the young men.’ However, studying the gospel and sharing it daily can be accomplished by anyone with or without an official call. Please remember that it doesn’t take a name tag to do missionary work.”
To read more about this BYU Devotional or to see the video, click here.
