Young Men general president Timothy L. Ferns has been inspired by the young people he has met while serving in countries around the world.
“Young people around the world are incredible,” he said in a livestreamed video on Young Men Worldwide’s social media accounts on June 9, shortly after returning from a missionary mission in Asia.
“Everywhere I go, I am completely inspired, lifted up, and strengthened. They have a strong testimony. They have a desire to know the Savior, to do His work, and to know their part in that work.”
Starting this September, young men and young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will undergo a new curriculum. Due to changes to the Sunday class schedule, the first 25 minutes of the second period will be devoted to Sunday School lessons and the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum. Then, after a five-minute period, the youth gather in the Young Women age group and Aaronic Priesthood quorum meeting for 25 minutes to study the expanded version of For the Strength of Youth: A Guide to Choosing.
Emily Bell Freeman, Young Women general president, said that as youth read each chapter of the guide, they would notice the teaching, “Jesus Christ is your strength.”
“This is my favorite part of the book,” she said in a live video on the Young Women Worldwide account on June 2.
President Ferns said studying this handbook will help the youth gain a deeper understanding of the Savior. “The Savior is all over this. He is our strength.”
President Ferns explained that printed guides have been shipped around the world, and urged leaders who receive them to immediately give them to youth.
What happens every Sunday?
The FSY Guide has 12 chapters, one for each month. Supplemental materials are available to help you study the guides published in Youth Strength magazine and are also available in the Gospel Library.
Elder David P. Homer, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department, said the lessons refer to Fast Sunday and the last Sunday of the month when youth meet in wards, but that these Sundays can change due to holidays, stake conferences, and general conference. And there are lessons you can use during other weeks, he explained on the Church News podcast.
Sunday lesson right away. I will introduce this month’s topic as an anchor. Youth step inside the Guide to learn eternal truths and consider the promised blessings as they respond to the invitation. “That’s kind of the anchor for this month’s study, and that’s where it starts,” Elder Homer said.
Last Sunday lesson. This is a summary of what they learned. The youth will also learn about scriptural heroes who exemplify the principles they have been learning this past month. Young women learn about women from the scriptures, and young men learn about men from the scriptures. “This is a time for them to ask, ‘Who am I? Who am I going to be? Who does the Lord want me to be?'” Elder Homer said.
President Ferns said that studying one chapter a month will deepen your understanding of the guide’s core doctrines and eternal truths, leading to a more inspired life.
“And in the end, we get to the heroes of the Bible who lead us to the Savior and help us understand more fully the nature of the Savior and our divine identity, who we are and who God wants us to be. I’m really excited to see what this has to offer,” he said.
President Freeman said the young women’s final Sunday lesson will be about their purpose as women in God’s plan as they learn from women in the scriptures. “Every month you’ll meet a new woman from the Bible, and you’ll love what we’re going to learn and learn together.”
Other Sunday lessons. These are intended to support what young people have begun to learn in that month’s For the Strength of Youth guide. Supplementary materials for these lessons are published in that month’s For the Strength of Youth magazine.
Elder Homer said the order of lessons is important, so if a ward or branch needs to make adjustments, “make sure you don’t lose the Sunday fasting lesson and the last Sunday lesson.”
On August 30, the fifth Sunday in August, young people, children who will turn 12 in 2027, their parents and leaders will attend a meeting to watch a video presentation explaining the new curriculum for young people.
For more information about Sunday’s changes, including implementation guides, visit Sunday.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Youth are encouraged to read the entire FSY Guide by September 6th. Weekly FSY study guides are available in the Gospel Library app. The Young Men and Young Women General Presidency posts weekly on social media about their work, along with the For the Strength of Youth social media accounts.
