More than 200 years ago in 1820, Joseph Smith was a young farm boy with questions about religion and his standing before God. He had worries and fears, much like young people today.
His faith in Jesus Christ led him to pray for heavenly guidance and eventually resulted in the Restoration of the gospel and the creation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I hope you can see a bit of yourself in young Joseph Smith,” said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as he stood in front of the Salt Lake Temple to recorded a video that was broadcast worldwide on Jan. 5.
“He looked to Christ, who lifted him above his doubts and fears. Is it amazing what is happening as a result? The Church of Jesus Christ was restored. It has grown and spread across the nations of the earth, touching the lives of millions of God’s children. Temples are being built, first one, then two, now hundreds of them. The work continues to move forward, and it all started because of a 14-year-old youth who had a question and asked of God.
“I’m sure that Joseph, at age 14, knew very little about what the future holds — the glorious things or the difficult ones — but he knew enough to look unto Christ, have faith and take the next step, then the next, and then the next. That is one reason why I love this year’s youth theme, ‘Look unto Christ.’ It helps you understand that if you want to find faith, it is extremely important to look in the right direction.
He continued: “With Jesus Christ as your strength and with His light, you can see more clearly who you are, who God is and who you can become. If you lift your sights toward His light, the shadows of fear and uncertainty will fall behind you.”
Elder Uchtdorf’s thoughts were part of a worldwide event for youth — a 25-minute-long prerecorded video broadcast — featuring messages that focused on the 2025 youth theme, “Look unto Christ,” based on Doctrine and Covenants 6:36, which reads, “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”
Elder Uchtdorf was joined on the broadcast by Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Young Men General President Steven J. Lund, who prerecorded a joint message from the Sacred Grove near Palmyra, New York.
The broadcast also featured the 2025 youth theme song and other items found at youth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
‘Jesus Christ is your strength’
After quoting the theme scripture, Elder Uchtdorf asked, “How do you look unto Christ?”
Of the many ways, he focused on two, both represented by things he always carries in his shirt pockets.
The first is his temple recommend, which reminds him of covenants with God.
“I hope and expect that each of you has and cherishes your temple recommend, even if you don’t have a temple nearby. I hope that you go to the house of the Lord as often as possible for baptisms and confirmations; but just as important it is that you go to the temple is that you find out why we have temples,” Elder Uchtdorf said. “Temples are beautiful and peaceful, but there is so much more than that. There you connect with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by making covenants and by helping others to receive the same blessings. As you serve in the temple, you can feel that you are an eternal being with an eternal purpose.”
Elder Uchtdorf spoke of temples while standing in front of the Salt Lake Temple, which is currently undergoing a major renovation.
“The restoration work on this temple is a long process. It is taking a lot of effort to get it ready again for sacred service,” he said. “In a sense, you and I are a little bit like this temple. We are all a work in progress. As we look unto Christ and follow Him, we can make daily improvements, also known as repentance. And by this, we strengthen our spiritual foundation, increase our capacity to serve and will be ready for whatever the future may bring.”
The second item in Elder Uchtdorf’s pocket is the “For the Strength of Youth” guide. He encouraged the youth to read it often and speak about it with parents and friends. The scripture that inspired this year’s youth theme is listed on the back of the guide.
“This inspired guide for making choices assures that you recognize Jesus Christ as your strength,” he said. “My dear young friends, you can trust Jesus. He is there for you.”
Elder Uchtdorf concluded by encouraging Latter-day Saint youth to always “look unto Christ,” especially when making important decisions, fixing mistakes or facing questions, doubts and fear.
“Yes, we are living in a world that can be troubling and frightening, but do not fear. Have courage. You have Jesus Christ on your side, the Light of the World, the Savior of the world, He is ready to help you,” he said. “So look to Christ in every thought. He will help you see your life from an elevated perspective. He will help you to know who you are and to believe that there is a glorious future ahead of you. My dear young friends, Jesus Christ is your strength.”
In the Sacred Grove
President Freeman and President Lund opened the broadcast by taking viewers on a stroll through the Sacred Grove near Palmyra, New York, where they shared their testimonies of the Restoration of the Savior’s gospel and Church.
As they walked through the trees, the two Church leaders discussed Joseph Smith’s First Vision experience and how it compares to the experiences of young people today.
“You think about those two questions that he was thinking about — ‘What is to be done? ... And how shall I know it?’ — and I think how many other of our teenagers and youth have thought those same two questions,” President Freeman said.
Embedded in those questions, President Lund said, was knowledge of a God in heaven and a purpose for his life.
“He was struggling, as he describes in his various tellings, with the question of ‘What do I need to do to be a better boy? I want to be a better person. I want to make sure that I’m living my life consistently with what Heavenly Father would have me to do,’” he said.
In retiring to the Sacred Grove with his questions, Joseph Smith was demonstrating the power of the 2025 youth theme, “Look unto Christ.”
“He could have asked anybody, but for some reason, he thought, ‘The best thing for me to do right now is to take these questions and to go find a sacred and quiet place and to look to Christ, to doubt not, to fear not.’ And that is our theme,” President Freeman said. “How many of us have questions, doubts and fears and need to find that grove, our own grove, where we can kneel down and look to Christ for those questions that we are asking ... and know that a ray, a pillar, is going to come in that moment.”
President Lund and President Freeman hope youth with questions will do as Joseph Smith did.
“This year, as we look unto Him — ‘look unto Christ’ — [I hope] that we will find opportunities, not once in a lifetime, but every day, to go and kneel in prayer in sacred and quiet places, and pray out loud if we can, pray within our hearts if we have to, but talk to Heavenly Father about how we can become better people,” President Lund said.
‘Pillars and Rays’
Thoughts from “Pillars and Rays,” the April 2024 general conference talk by Elder Alexander Dushku, a General Authority Seventy, were featured during the youth broadcast.
“Rather than sending us a pillar of light, the Lord sends us a ray of light, and then another and another. Those rays of light are continuously being poured down upon us,” he said. “Perhaps no one ray is strong enough or bright enough to constitute a full testimony, but together they can become a light that the darkness of doubt cannot overcome.”
Elder Dushku continued: “We too can have our own pillar of light — one ray at a time. And in the midst of that pillar, we too will find a loving Heavenly Father calling us by name, pointing us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Invitations to discuss and ponder
At different points in the broadcast, youth were invited to pause and discuss three questions as a group and then ponder one last question individually.
- When is a time you looked to Christ through prayer, scriptures or the “For the Strength of Youth” guide?
- When is a time you experienced doubt or fear and you looked to Christ?
- How does it make you feel to know you belong to something bigger, the greatest work taking place on earth today?
- Ponder a time in your life when you received a heavenly ray of light.
The broadcast and other resources
The prerecorded video will be available for download on Gospel Library and broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The broadcast may be streamed from:
- The Church’s YouTube inspiration channel.
- Gospel Stream app in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French (download the app on Apple Mobile, Apple TV, Google Play, Google TV, Roku and Amazon Fire devices).
- Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- Youth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- BYUtv.
The video may also be streamed on demand from Media Library, YouTube and the Gospel Stream app.
The 2025 youth album and theme song, printable artwork, activity ideas and other information about the theme can be found at youth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
