A little while back I sent an email out to parents of youth that are eligible to attend FSY this year. I was excited to get things moving and looking forward to this opportunity for our young women and young men. Well, 🤷🏻‍♂️it looks like that will be for 2022 now. We'll get it one of these years.

While I feel for those youth that may miss out being an attendee this year, all is not lost. Graduating seniors.... keep a look out for invitations next year to be a counselor.

If you haven't seen the message from Elder Ballard, take a moment to review it below. Long story short, we will be planning local camps/activities for our youth this summer.

Here are some highlights of activities we will be planning.

  • Priest age young men in the stake will be invited to attend Kodiak camp (priesthood + mission prep + lots of awesome outdoors activities)
  • The stake is looking at doing something similar for young women of that same age bracket
  • Younger age groups are discussing camps/activities
  • We will do a ward youth conference (hint, it may have something to do with the Book of Mormon again 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️📘)

Elder Ballard's Message

From http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/youth-conferences-camps-2021:

'In a letter to leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States and Canada, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, encouraged leaders to look for ways to reconnect with youth in 2021 through local ward or stake youth conferences and Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood camps. The For the Strength of Youth (FSY) conferences (gatherings of teenagers from dozens of congregations) are postponed in the United States and Canada until 2022.

Congregational leaders should hold youth conferences and camps on a smaller (and, if need be, virtual) scale in 2021.

“Where permitted by local health and safety guidelines and when directions from Area Presidencies allow, these activities should be held in person,” President Ballard says. “Where group gatherings are not permitted, virtual alternatives should be used. As youth and their leaders seek His guidance, Heavenly Father will bless them with vision and creativity to help His sons and daughters grow.” '