Local Pages
Youth in Auckland Embrace Change
The new Children and Youth initiative follows the Church’s overall shift towards home-based worship, focusing on more personalized learning and growth. This has some teenagers from the Massey Park Ward in the Auckland New Zealand Papatoetoe Stake thinking about their own spiritual, intellectual, physical and social progress this year.
“One of my goals . . . is to become spiritually self-reliant,” says Arizana, 13. “I want to develop my own knowledge of the gospel without being prompted by my mother or a leader. I want to draw my own conclusions.”
Fifteen-year-old Tai’ulagi (Lagi) has a similar objective. “My goal is to become more involved in reading scriptures and in family home evenings, so that I can be more grounded in the gospel.”
Arizana and Lagi were companions in a recent, stakewide youth mini mission, where they ministered to less-active young women and invited them to a youth activity. The experience helped the girls understand why it is so important for young people to have a strong testimony of the gospel. They now have a better appreciation for the changes in the Primary and youth organizations.
“Nowadays, a lot of kids don’t know what they want to do when they get older,” Lagi says, “and they don’t have much of a grounding in spiritual things, so I feel this programme is better—for the youth especially—because it helps us think about what we want to do with our lives.”
Arizana adds, “I feel happy that the leaders are recognizing our needs and are adapting to them. I also feel very blessed to know that I matter to the leaders and our Heavenly Father.”
For brothers Denzyl and Daniel, adapting to the new Children and Youth initiative should be seamless as they already enjoy home-based gospel learning.
“I love how we have our lessons at home,” says 10-year-old Daniel. “When I go to my dad’s house in the weekends, it means I sometimes miss out on [attending] church, so when we have lessons at home and do our Come, Follow Me, I still get to learn about the gospel.”
His brother Denzyl, 15, noted that peer pressure in previous young men’s classes had sometimes made it difficult to participate in the lessons, but learning at home is more engaging. “I know I always drag my feet when mum says lesson time, but I always feel good after . . . I love the living scriptures and resources mum uses to help teach the lesson. I think it’s a good way to teach us kids.”
Denzyl’s goals for 2020 are both spiritual and social. “[I want] to be able to speak up and share what I learn at home with the other youth at church . . . I want to have the courage to be an example to others. I know I am not strong in sharing my testimony but one day I hope I will be because I do love the gospel.”
Daniel has missionary work on his mind. “One of my goals is to learn more about the stories in the scriptures, and to get to know Jesus Christ better. I want to share it with my papa and my dad’s family, who don’t have any church.”