My dear brothers and sisters, dear friends,

welcome to this worldwide devotional for young adults.

It is being broadcast from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it is filled to capacity.

I’m Elder Dieter Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Thank you all for joining us in this great devotional with our dear President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy W. Nelson as our inspiring speakers. We're always inspired by their energy and tireless commitment to the Lord. Now, today we look forward to listen and learn from their messages.

We'd like to acknowledge members of the Church Board of Education,

the Priesthood and Family Executive Committee, and the Utah Area Presidency on the stand with us.

Our opening hymn will be sung by the congregation—by all of us.

And we will sing Hymn #7, “High on the Mountain Top.”

Sister Elena Aburto will conduct and Brother Brian Mathias will accompany us on the organ. Following the opening hymn, Brother Joseph McKellar will offer the opening prayer.

[Choir and congregation singing: “High on the Mountaintop”] High on the mountain top A banner is unfurled. Ye nations, now look up; It waves to all the world. In Deseret’s sweet, peaceful land, On Zion’s mount behold it stand!

For God remembers still His promise made of old

That he on Zion’s hill Truth’s standard would unfold! Her light should there attract the gaze Of all the world in latter days. His house shall there be reared, His glory to display, And people shall be heard In distant lands to say: We’ll now go up and serve the Lord, Obey his truth and learn his word.

For there we shall be taught The law that will go forth, With truth and wisdom fraught, To govern all the earth. Forever there his ways we’ll tread, And save ourselves with all our dead.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this marvelous day and for this opportunity that we have together here in the Conference Center and across the world to listen to Thy prophet.

Please bless us that our hearts and minds will be open to Thy messages and that we will be able to feel Thy spirit.

And please bless us that we will go forth from this meeting uplifted and able to do Thy work. And we say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

We will first hear a musical number by a young adult choir from the Utah Valley singing, “Israel, Israel God is calling.”

They then will be led by Matthew Johnson and accompanied by Brian Mathias and Andrew Unsworth on the organ.

Following the choir, we will be greatly blessed to hear from Sister Wendy W. Nelson. President Russell M. Nelson, our dear prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be our concluding speaker today.

After President Nelson’s message, the choir will sing,

“Let Us All Press On.” They will be led by Ryan Eggett, and Sister Makenzie Taylor will offer then the closing prayer.

[Choir singing: “Israel, Israel God is Calling”]

Israel, Israel, God is calling, Calling thee from lands of woe.

Babylon the great is falling; God shall all her tow’rs o’erthrow.

Come to Zion, come to Zion Ere his floods of anger flow.

Come to Zion, come to Zion Ere his floods of anger flow.

Israel, Israel, God is speaking. Hear your great Deliv’rer’s voice! Now a glorious morn is breaking For the people of his choice. Come to Zion, come to Zion, And within her walls rejoice.

Come to Zion, come to Zion, And within her walls rejoice.

Israel, angels are descending From celestial worlds on high,

And to man their pow’r extending, That the Saints may homeward fly.

Come to Zion, come to Zion, For your coming Lord is nigh.

Come to Zion, come to Zion, For your coming Lord is nigh.

Israel! Israel! Canst thou linger Still in error’s gloomy ways?

Mark how judgment’s pointing finger Justifies no vain delays.

Come to Zion, come to Zion! Zion’s walls shall ring with praise.

Come to Zion, come to Zion! Zion’s walls shall ring with praise.

Come to Zion, come to Zion! Zion’s walls shall ring with praise.

Come to Zion, come to Zion! Zion’s walls shall ring with praise.

Zion’s walls shall ring with praise.

Amen.

Our dear brothers and sisters, how we love you.

How we wish we could take each one of you home with us! [Laughter]

More importantly, we pray that something the Holy Ghost teaches you tonight will help you prepare to return Home—

Home with a capital H. Tonight, I would like to talk with you about one question,

one question that can change your life.

This one question can increase your confidence, decrease your anxiety,

motivate you, lift your mood and your sights, increase your productivity, increase your focus and clarity of thinking, help you resist temptation, help you detect deception,

increase your gratitude, decrease the stress in your life, increase your capacity to love, and help you make better decisions.

This one question can bring you joy, comfort, love, and peace. How can I be so sure? Because that is exactly what 30 of your peers taught me, and I believe them.

These young adults taught me that when you ask yourself this specific question,

it can help you pursue what is really important in life,

help you make changes in your life that you want to make, and can even help you truly repent.

According to your friends, this question can give you eyes to see (like you never have before)

the Lord’s hand in your life, the beauty of the earth, and the goodness in others. In short, because this question can put you in touch with the Spirit of the Lord and with the divine DNA in your spirit, this one question can bring you more light and truth.

Your peers also taught me that this question will work no matter how crazy busy or monotonous your life currently is. It doesn’t matter how you’re feeling: happy, sad, isolated, inundated,

depressed, encouraged, anxious, excited, lonely, left out, overwhelmed, overlooked, overjoyed. It doesn’t matter.

This one question can work for you. Would you like to know the question?

Great! A little background first. [Laughter]

Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, and the Head of this, His church, has made it very clear that He wants you and me to become increasingly holy.

He even commands us to do so, saying, “Ye must practice holiness before me.” And He doesn’t just leave it at that. He adds the word continually.

Now, does it seem way too lofty and simply impossible to practice holiness continually?

I completely understand if you’re thinking, “Sister Nelson,

I just don’t have that in me.” Let me assure you why I know that you do.

Prior to our marriage, I was a psychologist,

a marriage and family therapist, and a BYU professor.

During those 30 years of my professional life, I learned about the power of questions. Some questions can help us think of things in a brand new way,

opening our hearts and minds to all kinds of possibilities that we otherwise would never consider.

So, two months ago, as I thought about the power of questions, I invited 30 of our young adult friends—exactly your age,

married and single—to experiment with this one question for three days.

I asked them to do the following: “In just one situation a day, for each of three days, ask yourself, ‘What would a holy young adult do?’ ”

That’s it. That’s the question:

“What would a holy young adult do?”

For example, How would a holy young adult start his day?

What would be on her to-do list?

How would he talk with a friend or shop or play or pray or do laundry or read to a child? What would a holy young adult listen to or say?

write or read? watch or wear?

If a holy young adult were falsely accused, betrayed, or misunderstood,

well, what would she do? What would he do in a really difficult situation where his values or morals were tested?

How would she prepare to partake of the sacrament each Sunday?

How would a holy young single adult use his time to prepare, rather than wait, for a marriage?

And how would holy young adults who are married strengthen their marriage?

And what happened? In several states in the USA and in two cities in Canada, 30 young adults went to work asking themselves,

“What would a holy young adult do?”

A flurry of normal daily activities commenced, each now being done as a holy young adult would do it.

After only a few days, reports began to pour in. Let me tell you what some of your friends did.

Carrots for lunch were crunched with more gratitude. [Laughter]

Usual music and podcasts were exchanged for inspiring music, general conference talks, and Come, Follow Me podcasts.

Time-consuming social media apps were deleted.

Foul-language shows were turned off. Bloated to-do lists were reprioritized.

Prayers were offered before attempting difficult homework assignments, inviting the Holy Ghost to become the tutor.

Scriptures were savored at a variety of times, including right before an exam started, which brought miraculous results.

Spiritually strengthening habits that had been lost since returning home from a mission were reinstated. Testimonies were shared with classmates.

Jealousy of friends who were dating and marrying was replaced with love

and joy for them. Driving time became quiet, meditative time.

Persistent negative thoughts were replaced by counting small victories and many blessings. Tapping and scrolling were replaced with phone calls and in-person visits.

Time in the temple increased, as did housework by husbands. [Laughter]

And the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ was experienced in abundance. What else happened?

One young adult discovered, “The power of my agency.”

She continued, “As I chose to watch general conference as a holy young adult would, I wasn't watching to please anyone or to control the way people see me.

I was watching because I know this Church is true. The gospel is true.

The men and women speaking are inspired and guided by the Lord, and I wanted to learn.”

A “chronic people pleaser” reported that her stress at work decreased.

She wrote, “Asking myself that question changed my perspective completely.

I had newfound confidence because I was remembering the significance of more important things. I learned the holier you become, the less you worry about doing what everyone else wants and more about what God wants.”

Now, my dear brothers and sisters, at the present time, the Salt Lake Temple is still an architectural wonder, but it is not an operating temple of the Lord.

As that extraordinary structure undergoes extensive renovations and lifesaving stabilizations,

the Salt Lake Temple has been decommissioned as a temple.

When a temple is decommissioned,

that which is sacred—related to ordinances and instruction—is removed.

Sadly, the same can happen with people. Through the buffetings of Satan, poor

choices, and eternal-life-threatening brushes with those in the great and spacious building,

tragically, many young adults have had the sacred removed from their lives.

These young adults have been, so to speak, decommissioned as temples of God.

Now, whether this has happened to you or not, I invite you to reclaim or to increase the sacred in your life by doing exactly what the Lord has commanded, which is to practice holiness continually.

You may want to begin this process by doing what your peers did.

Ask yourself in just one situation for each of three days,

“What would a holy young adult do?” And then follow through with the answer.

As you live your life in crescendo,

trying to be just a little more holy day by day,

and quickly repenting when you mess up,

you will find joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. And you will begin to experience in a most profound and unforgettable way exactly what our Savior, Jesus Christ, promised when He said, “I am able to make you holy.”

My dear brothers and sisters, President Nelson will speak to you now.

I testify to you and I could testify in any court in any nation on earth that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s prophet on the earth today, chosen and instructed by Him. In the name of Jesus Christ,

amen.

My dear brothers and sisters,

Sister Nelson and I have looked forward to this evening for months now.

My wife, Wendy, is a woman of great faith and wisdom.

I commend her teachings to you.

How wonderful it is to meet with you on the anniversary of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.

As you know, on May 15th, 1829,

the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery knelt in a secluded spot in the woods near Joseph and Emma's home in Harmony, Pennsylvania.

Sister Nelson and I have been to that grove of sugar maples.

This grove became sacred when John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

Later, Peter, James, and John restored the Melchizedek Priesthood in the same general area.

In September 2015, I dedicated that Priesthood Restoration Site.

Of all the previous assignments I had then received,

that was the most significant to me.

That site commemorated the restoration of priesthood authority and keys to man upon the earth.

Those and other keys were needed to lead the restored Church of Jesus Christ and make it possible for us to perform and receive essential ordinances,

including sealing families together for eternity.

That day of dedication was a singular moment in my life.

Well now, this is a singular time in your life.

There won't be another quite like it.

You are establishing priorities and patterns that will dramatically affect not just your mortal life,

but also your eternal life.

Let us talk about life. That's something with which I've had a little experience. [Laughter]

I grew up during a great depression. I was a teenager during World War II.

I have had several brushes with death.

I've been to six continents many times and have yet to meet a people or culture that I did not find inspiring.

I have also borne grief.

And I've watched two precious daughters

be slowly, painfully, and fatally consumed by cancer.

And I have buried a magnificent wife, Dantzel, the mother of our ten children.

Knowing that it is not good for man to be alone, I chose to marry again.

[Laughter] I married another remarkable woman, dear Wendy.

I have seen friends and family members make heroic choices

and live exemplary lives. And I have seen others make disastrous decisions

that have derailed their potential.

In short, I have lived a long time.

And at this point, I have stopped buying green bananas. [Laughter]

And I have also stopped spending time on things that don't matter.

But you do matter to me. And your future matters matters much to me.

I am so honored that so many of you have come out tonight.

And I thank the musicians who've started us off on such a wonderful tone.

Tonight, I want to talk to you about your future.

Sister Nelson and I recently attended the inaugural of a university president.

During that excellent event,

I thought about the countless educators worldwide who are dedicated to teaching men and women your age. Education is very important.

I consider it a religious responsibility.

The glory of God is intelligence.

There is a major difference, however, between the responsibilities of secular educators and my responsibility as the senior Apostle on earth.

Their job is to educate and prepare you for your mortal experience, meaning

how to succeed in your life’s work.

My responsibility is to educate and prepare you also

for your immortal experience, meaning how to gain eternal life.

Teachings of the finest institutions of higher learning have limitations

because secular education generally ignores three major truths that are rarely addressed. First, each of us is going to die.

Second, because of Jesus Christ,

each of us is going to be resurrected and become immortal.

And third, Judgment Day is ahead for each of us.

These three absolute truths should form the foundation of your spiritual education.

Because of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness,

we know a lot about our postmortal possibilities.

We know that our Father’s house has many mansions.

We know that God loves His children so much that, as President Dallin H. Oaks has taught, “All the children of God,

with the fewest of exceptions, will wind up in a kingdom of glory.”

Just think of it!

Our Father created kingdoms of glory— telestial, terrestrial, and celestial—

to provide a glorious place for His children.

My purpose tonight is to make sure that your eyes are wide open to the truth

that this life really is the time when you get to decide what kind of life you want to live forever.

Now is your time to prepare to meet God.

Mortal lifetime is hardly a nanosecond compared with eternity.

But, my dear brothers and sisters, what a crucial nanosecond it is!

During this life, we get to choose which laws we are willing to obey—

those of the celestial kingdom or the terrestrial or the telestial—

and therefore, in which kingdom of glory we will live forever.

Every righteous choice that you make here will pay huge dividends now.

But righteous choices in mortality will pay unimaginable dividends eternally.

If you choose to make covenants with God,

and are faithful to those covenants,

you have the promise of glory added upon your head for ever and ever.

These truths ought to prompt your ultimate sense of FOMO [Laughter],

or fear of missing out.

You have the potential to reach the celestial kingdom.

The ultimate FOMO would be missing out on the celestial kingdom [Laughter],

settling for a lesser kingdom

because here on earth you chose only to live the laws of a lesser kingdom.

The adversary, of course, does not want you even to think about tomorrow,

let alone eternal life. But please do not be uninformed or naive about the opportunities and challenges of mortality.

In that spirit, you need to understand three fundamental truths that will help you prepare your future course. First, know the truth about who you are.

Second, know the truth about what Heavenly Father and His Son have offered you. And third, know the truth related to your conversion.

I will speak to each of these three points.

First, know the truth about who you are.

I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly tonight,

the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity.

My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God.

You have sung this truth since you learned the words to “I Am a Child of God.” But is that eternal truth imprinted on your heart?

Has this truth rescued you when confronted with temptation?

I fear that you may have heard this truth so often that it sounds more like a slogan than divine truth.

And yet, the way you think about who you really are affects almost every decision you will ever make.

In 2006, when I married Wendy,

I was in for several surprises, most of them quite wonderful.

One of those surprises was the number of clothing items she owned that displayed a logo—

universities from which she graduated, places she had traveled, and so forth.

Whenever she wore one of those items, I teased her by saying,

“Who are you advertising today?” [Laughter]

She invited me to join in the fun.

Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things.

Many labels will change for you with the passage of time,

and not all labels are of equal value.

But if any label replaces your most important identifiers,

the results can be spiritually suffocating.

For example, if I were to rank in order

the designations that could be applied to me, I would say first, I am a child of God. I’m a son of God,

then a son of the covenant,

then a disciple of Jesus Christ and a devoted member of His restored Church.

Next would come my honored titles as a husband and father,

then Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All other labels that have applied to me, such as medical doctor, surgeon,

researcher, professor, lieutenant, captain, PhD, American, and so forth,

would fall somewhere down the list.

Now let us turn the question to you. Who are you?

First and foremost, you are a child of God.

Second, as a member of the Church, you are a child of the covenant.

And third, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Tonight I plead with you not to replace these three paramount and unchanging identifiers with any others,

because doing so could stymie your progress or pigeonhole you in a stereotype that could potentially thwart your eternal progression.

For example, if you are identified mainly as an American,

those who are not American may think,

“I know everything there is to know about you” and attribute erroneous beliefs to you.

If you identify yourself by your political affiliation,

you will instantly be categorized as having certain beliefs,

though I don’t know anyone who believes everything that their preferred political party presently embraces.

We could go on and on rehearsing the constraints of various labels that we put on ourselves or that other people place upon us.

Some might label me as an old man.

But I’m a lot younger than Adam.

and Noah, too!

Ageism, racism, nationalism,

sexism, and a host of other “isms” are universally limiting.

How tragic it is when someone believes the label another person has given them.

Imagine the heartache of a child who is told, “You are dumb.”

Identifiers and labels are powerful.

The adversary rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other.

How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other.

Labels can lead to judging and animosity.

Any abuse or prejudice towards another because of nationality, race,

sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker.

Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature

as His covenant sons and daughters.

There are various labels that may be very important to you, of course.

Please do not misunderstand me.

I am not saying that other designations and identifiers are not significant.

I am simply saying that no identifier should displace,

replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations:

child of God, child of the covenant, and disciple of Jesus Christ.

Any identifier that is not compatible with these three basic designations

will ultimately let you down.

Other labels will disappoint you in time because they do not have the power to lead you toward eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God.

Worldly identifiers will never give you a vision of who you can ultimately become.

They will never affirm your divine DNA or your unlimited divine potential.

Because there is a grand plan of salvation authored by Heavenly Father,

does it not stand to reason that you also have a divine destiny?

Make no mistake about it; your potential is divine.

With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses

of who you may become. So who are you?

First and foremost, you are a child of God,

a child of the covenant, and a disciple of Jesus Christ.

As you embrace these truths,

our Heavenly Father will help you reach your ultimate goal of living eternally in His holy presence.

Second, know the truth about what God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have offered you. In short, They have offered you everything.

Heavenly Father’s plan for His children allows us to live where and how He lives, and ultimately to become more and more like Him.

His plan literally makes the richest blessings of all eternity available to us, including the potential for us to become “joint heirs with Christ.”

God knows all and sees all. In all of eternity, no one will ever know you or care about you more than He does. No one will ever be closer to you

than He is. You can pour out your heart to Him

and trust Him to send the Holy Ghost and angels to care for you.

He demonstrated His ultimate love when He sent His Only Begotten Son to die for you—to be your Savior

and your Redeemer.

Through His Atonement, the Lord Jesus Christ overcame the world.

Therefore, He is mighty to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

He will deliver you from your most excruciating circumstances

in His own way and time. As you come unto Him in faith, He will guide, preserve, and protect you. He will heal your broken heart

and comfort you in your distress. He will give you access to His power.

And He will make the impossible in your life become possible.

Jesus Christ is the only enduring source of hope, peace, and joy for you.

Satan can never replicate any of these. And Satan will never help you.

On the other hand, God’s work and His glory is “to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man.”

God will do everything He can, short of violating your agency, to help you not miss out on the greatest blessings in all eternity.

God has a special love for each person who makes a covenant with Him in the waters of baptism. And that divine love deepens as additional covenants are made and faithfully kept.

Then, at the end of mortal life,

precious is the reunion of each covenant child with our Heavenly Father.

He also cares deeply that all His children have an opportunity to hear the glad tidings of the restored gospel.

Heavenly Father has sent His children to earth for more than six millennia.

Most of those people have not yet received the ordinances that would qualify them for eternal life.

That is why temples are so significant.

That is why the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil is the most important cause on earth today.

You, my dear colleagues in this holy work, have an essential role in this gathering, and I thank you for it. This

now leads me to my third point: know the truth related to your conversion.

The truth is that you must own your own conversion.

No one else can do it for you.

Now, may I invite you to consider a few questions?

Do you want to feel peace about concerns that presently plague you?

Do you want to know Jesus Christ better?

Do you want to learn how His divine power can heal your wounds and weaknesses?

Do you want to experience the sweet, soothing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ working in your life?

Seeking to answer these questions will require effort—much effort.

I plead with you to take charge of your testimony. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth.

Don't pollute it with the false philosophies of unbelieving men and women and then wonder why your testimony is waning.

Engage in daily, earnest, humble prayer.

Nourish yourself in the words of ancient and modern prophets.

Ask the Lord to teach you how to hear Him better.

Spend more time in the temple and in family history work.

As you make your testimony your highest priority,

watch for miracles to happen in your life.

If you have questions, and I hope you do,

seek answers with a fervent desire to believe.

Learn all you can about the gospel, and be sure to turn to truth-filled sources for guidance.

We live in a dispensation when nothing shall be withheld.

Thus, in time, the Lord will answer all our questions.

In the meantime, immerse yourself in the rich reservoir of revelation we have at our fingertips.

I promise that doing so will strengthen your testimony,

even if some of your questions are not yet answered.

Your sincere questions, asked in faith, will always lead to greater faith and more knowledge.

If friends and family should step away from the Church,

continue to love them. It is not for you to judge another's choice any more than you deserve to be criticized

for staying faithful.

Now, please hear me when I say,

“Do not be led astray by those whose doubts may be fueled by things you cannot see in their lives.”

Most of all, let your skeptical friends see how much you love the Lord and His gospel. Surprise their doubting hearts with your believing heart.

As you take charge of your testimony and cause it to grow,

you will become a more potent instrument in the hands of the Lord.

You’ll be inspired by a better cause: the cause of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing happening on this earth more important than gathering Israel for Him.

Let your Heavenly Father know that you want to help.

Ask Him to put you to work in this glorious cause.

And then stand back and marvel at what happens when you let God prevail in your life.

My dear young friends, I love you. I thank you. I believe in you.

As the Lord’s prophet, I bless you to know the truth about who you are

and to treasure the truth about what your glorious potential really is.

I bless you to take charge of your own testimony.

And I bless you to have the desire and strength to keep your covenants.

As you do, I promise that you will experience spiritual growth,

freedom from fear, and a confidence that you can scarcely imagine now.

You will have the strength to have a positive influence far beyond your natural capacity.

And I promise that your future will be more exhilarating than anything you can presently believe. I so bless you, and again express my gratitude

and love for each of you,

in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[Musical number: “Let Us All Press On”]

Let us all press on in the work of the Lord,

That when life is o’er we may gain a reward;

In the fight for right let us wield a sword,

The mighty sword of truth.

Fear not, though the enemy deride;

Courage, for the Lord is on our side.

We will heed not what the wicked may say,

But the Lord alone we will obey.

We will not retreat, though our numbers may be few

When compared with the opposite host in view;

But an unseen pow’r will aid me and you

In the glorious cause of truth.

Fear not, though the enemy deride;

Courage, for the Lord is on our side.

We will heed not what the wicked may say,

But the Lord alone we will obey.

If we do what’s right we have no need to fear,

For the Lord, our helper, will ever be near;

In the days of trial his Saints he will cheer,

And prosper the cause of truth.

Fear not, though the enemy deride;

Courage, for the Lord is on our side.

We will heed not what the wicked may say,

But the Lord alone we will obey.

But an unseen pow’r will aid me and you

In the glorious cause of truth.

Cause of truth.

Our dear Heavenly Father, we are humbled and with our hearts full to be able to have been gathered together today to hear and listen to a prophet’s voice. We are grateful for our dear prophet, President Nelson, and for Sister Nelson and for the words which we heard this night.

We're grateful for the feelings and the impressions we received. We ask thee, Heavenly Father, that we can take these teachings and invitations into our own personal lives, that we can remember our divine identities as children of God,

and that we can strive to do our best to one day return and live with Thee.

We are so grateful for Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and love him so much. And we say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.