President Henry B. Eyring: 'Help them on their way home'
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"Our Heavenly Father wants and needs our help to bring His spirit children home to Him again," President Henry B. Eyring said during the Saturday morning session of general conference. "He wants them to gain early the spiritual strength to stay on the path. And He needs our help to get them back to the path quickly should they begin to wander."
Sharing personal experiences learned as a bishop and father, President Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, spoke of the importance of teaching children ways to develop the faith necessary to resist temptation. President Eyring told of a young woman in his ward with whom he met while serving as a young bishop. She reflected on decisions she had made in her life; the dream of a happy eternal home faded after poor choices she made had led her away from the Spirit.
"She sat across from me in what she called misery," he said. "She wanted me to rescue her from the trap of sin in which she found herself bound. But the only way out was for her to exercise faith in Jesus Christ, to have a broken heart, to repent and so be cleansed, changed and strengthened through the Lord's Atonement."
Although repentance does bring relief from sin's misery, President Eyring said it is so much harder than it would have been to exercise faith early in life and when an individual first began to wander.
"We help God's children best by providing ways to build faith in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel when they are young," he said. "And then we must help rekindle that faith quickly before it dims as they wander off the path."
Foreseeing the needs of His children, Heavenly Father placed directions and rescuers along the way, President Eyring said. He sent the Savior, Jesus Christ, to lead the way, as well as a living prophet to strengthen and guide.
"Heavenly Father has assigned us to a great variety of stations to strengthen and, when needed, to lead travelers to safety. Our most important and powerful assignments are in the family," he said. "They are important because the family has the opportunity at the start of a child's life to place feet firmly on the path home. Parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, are made more powerful guides and rescuers by the bonds of love that are the very nature of a family."
But the rescuers aren't limited to these sources alone.
"The Lord has placed a pattern of rescue and rescuers in His kingdom," he said. "In His wisdom, the Lord has inspired His servants to place some of the most powerful ways to strengthen us, and to put in place the best rescuers, as we pass through the teenage years."
President Eyring spoke of two programs the Lord has provided for the rising generation to build great spiritual strength.
The "Personal Progress" and "Duty to God" programs are ways for the youth of the Church to learn simple principles of the gospel and develop skills that strengthen individuals and help them resist temptation. The programs teach patterns such as prayer, scripture study and service, all habits that strengthen testimonies and help individuals learn and improve throughout their lives.
"Both of these programs put great responsibility on the efforts of the young people themselves," he said. "They are invited to learn and do things that would be challenging for anyone. ... On reflection, I realized that the contents of these booklets were a physical representation of the Lord's trust in the rising generation and in all of us who love them. And I have seen evidence that the trust is well-placed."
As youth and leaders participate in these programs together, President Eyring said, relationships with parents, quorum members and leaders will be strengthened, and the youth of the Church will be more prepared to receive the ordinances of the temple.
"Of all the help we can give these young people, the greatest will be to let them feel our confidence that they are on the path home to God and that they can make it," he said. "And we do that best by going with them. Because the path is steep and sometimes rocky, they will at times feel discouraged and even stumble. They may at times become confused about their destination and wander after less eternally important goals. These inspired programs make that less likely because they will lead the young person to invite and receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
"The best counsel for us to give young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So, if we are wise, we will encourage, praise and exemplify everything that invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When they share with us what they are doing and feeling, we must ourselves have qualified for the Spirit. Then, they will feel in our praise and our smiles the approval of God. And, should we feel the need to give corrective counsel, they will feel our love and the love of God in it, not rebuke and rejection, which can permit Satan to lead them further away."
