Ward Youth Conference

Our ward had a three day ward conference.  On Friday night, the youth did various service projects around the area.  Saturday morning, they went down to Benson and toured Karcher's Caverns.  On Sunday, during Sacrament Meeting, the youth and leaders shared their experiences about the past two days.  Josh was one of the speakers.  That evening, there was a special fireside at the Bishop's home.  Spencer Larsen, a former NFL player, spoke to the youth about the importance of serving a mission.

My kids woke up super early to see the Caverns

The Caverns

Josh's talk

"Good afternoon brothers and sisters. Yesterday, for youth conference, the youth of our ward went to the Kartchner caverns and took a tour of the caves there. These caves were preserved and protected very well by the staff.  They had many rules precautions taken to protect the caves. The reason for such measures is because of the stunning beauty of the cavern. Just as we view the caves as beautiful, so does our father who is in heaven views us. When we were born, we were spiritually beautiful, perfectly innocent. As we grow up, however, we make mistakes as everyone does, and diminish our spiritual beauty and innocence. When in the cave, there was a spot pointed out where bats used to hang on the ceiling. Bats, just like humans do, leave oil on objects they touch. This oil had caused the beautiful rock to change color from a nice orange-ish color to a dark, disgusting black. I could compare this darkening of color to what happens to us when we commit sin. We lose our spiritual beauty and worthiness when sin is present in our life, so we must prevent it from ever entering into our lives and remove it from within our lives. A scripture relating to this I found is D&C 82:14, which states   “For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.” We must do as the staff at the caverns has done and take a proactive role in protecting ourselves from the decaying effects of sin and utilize the cleansing power of the atonement, which I know can heal each and every one of us if we let it, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.