July 1st, 2025, 4:49pm MDT
Surrounded by 128 young men and women, President Alysabroun, a young woman in Cincinnati O Higho East Stake, looked out over the empty fields, the location of the future Cincinnati O Higho Temple.
“These children are Israel’s hopes,” she thought. “They are the future leaders of the church.”
At the three-day youth conference on June 19-21, young people from the Cincinnati Higho East Stake saw temples of the past, present and future, visiting temples in Kirtland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
“This Youth Conference helped us to recognize that from the very beginning to the present and the future, the gatherings of Israel were introduced by God to become our number one job on this planet,” said 15-year-old Sofia Brown.
13-year-old Bradley Ringhand was hesitant to attend the meeting as it meant missing out on a family trip. Now he said he had no regrets.
“It helped me get closer to my Heavenly Father and strengthen my relationships with friends and church leaders,” he said. “I am grateful for the experience and growth it has brought.”
The group’s first stop was Columbus Ohio Temple, where they performed a baptism for the dead.
They learned the following day about the early members of the Kirtland Temple church, ending with a prayer from Elder Nathan L. Johnson, the area of John Johnson Farm.
Sofia said she felt connected to the early saints when she entered their home and temple.
“I was able to feel their new faith and courage as they tried to understand their role in the brand new church,” she said. “This Youth Conference wanted me to be like those humble saints.”
18-year-old Aaron Pena said the experience encouraged him as he prepares to serve at the California Ventura Mission and speaks Spanish.
“By listening to the stories of early saints and the struggles they experienced, I know that when I bring faith to serve the Lord, I receive guidance and blessings,” he said. “If the early saints could build zeros from scratch, I could learn another language.”
Similarly, 14-year-old Cora Goldie was inspired by the example of the saint of Kirtland.
“Even though the early saints had no skills to build temples, they did their best and learned that the Lord accepted their sacrifices and efforts,” she said. “Even if it wasn’t perfect, I tried to start my best efforts.”
Many kind mercy occurred during the planning and execution of the meeting. Alyssa Brown told the story of Blake Anderson, a counselor for the young male president of the stake.
During the planning stage of the meeting, Brown and other stake members learned Anderson had liver cancer. He passed away on April 5th.
“The final act of Blake’s church service was to help with the schedule and logistics of the youth conference,” Brown said.
Brown said he worked particularly hard to organize the day at Kirtland.
“We all felt he was closing the day and wondered in a smooth and efficient way that later our day went on,” she said. “It was clear that our friend Blake was helping us from the other side of the veil.”
The meeting ended with a trip to the location of the future Cincinnati O Hio Temple. This will take you within 30 minutes of most of the youth’s homes.
Chris Decker, the president of the stake young male, experienced many self-doubts while helping to plan the meeting, but as he stood on the site of the Cincinnati Temple, he was able to see how everything was put together in perfect condition.
“What a gift to plan this meeting and give (young people) the opportunity to feel God’s love,” Decker said. “There was definitely a measure of relief at the end of our meeting, but there was nothing to compare it to the gratitude that we felt could help make this experience come true for them.”
