Transcript
-Carson, would you like to start out with the opening prayer? -Yeah. -(ALL) Amen. -Let's just make a special welcome to Brother Beck and his counselors. -Thank you, President. It's a pleasure to be here. This is Brother Gibson, first counselor, Young Men general presidency; and Brother Ochoa, who is the second counselor in the Young Men general presidency. -All right, so our new theme for this upcoming year ... -"Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth--" -"--that thy light may be a standard for the nations." -In the theme it says "forth." Forth is an action word. We can't just be sitting down. -We always need to be looking for places we can help. -Yeah, I think how it says "that we may be a standard to the nations," and we don't really know who's watching us at what point, who we influence. -If you have one pencil, it's easier to break. But if you have a whole bunch of pencils, you can't break it. You don't have to stand alone if you're with your quorum. -We are extremely blessed in this day and age just to have the priesthood, and we can't overlook it. We always need to be thinking about it. -And to be under a president who holds the keys. Feeling the Spirit as a quorum is just such a strong, powerful thing. -One of the key things in Duty to God is, again, just to act. Talk is cheap. But if we actually act upon everything we've been saying today, if anyone gets just one thing out of this, is just try to be better. In closing, we're going to be led and get more counsel from Brother Beck. -Well, President, thank you for inviting me and for inviting Brother Gibson and Brother Ochoa to be here today. And we're really inspired by what we've heard. The youth of this Church are extraordinary. And when God gives them His priesthood, He is telling all of us that He trusts you. The world needs the Aaronic Priesthood of this Church to rise up, to shine forth. They need to know your light, "thy light," and they need to understand that your light is Jesus Christ. And I would invite all the young men of the Church to fulfill their duty to God. And as you fulfill your duty to God and you understand that sacred obligation of the Aaronic Priesthood to invite all to come unto Christ, your light, Jesus Christ, will shine through you to be a standard for the nations. I pray that will be the great work of the Aaronic Priesthood in this generation, to rise up now and take your rightful places in the priesthood of God and do the great work He has for you to do. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. [MUSIC PLAYING]