As Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, addressed the rows of young single adults surrounding the main stage at the Salt Palace Convention Center, she reminded them that heaven is real — and the yearning to return isn’t a new experience.
“For thousands of years, humankind has looked to the skies for direction — and they weren’t just looking at maps,” Sister Runia said on Friday, Aug. 29, at the 2025 Utah Area YSA Conference. “They were reaching for connection to heaven, for something earth cannot supply.”
Sister Runia shared a recent conversation she had with her son Dane that highlighted the universal homesickness felt for the “first place that we called home.”
When Dane returned from his mission, his younger brother Pater — who was only 2 at the time — would ask in surprise every time Dane walked through the door to their house, “What are you doing here?”
While Dane found it funny the first few times it happened, Sister Runia said her heart squeezed when he explained to her that he “just wanted to be home.”
“That’s the feeling I have today, that all of us, we are family, and we just want to go home.”
Sister Runia explained that as individuals look to journey back to their heavenly home, questions will unfold. She posed — and provided answers to — what she referred to as “the big three” questions.
‘How can we know that heaven is home?’
Sister Runia shared with the YSAs what she called Heavenly Father’s “great secret of the universe” — the same truth He revealed to Moses when showing him worlds without number.
“While God made the stars, planets and galaxies, they are not His favorite creations.” She continued: “God’s favorite creation is us. When He says to Moses, ‘This is my work and my glory’ (Moses 1:39), imagine Him saying to you, ‘You are My work and My glory.’”
Sister Runia testified that Heavenly Father remembers everything about His children, even with the veil separating them from His presence. As a parent herself, she mentioned the physical ache she experiences when she is separated from her children and grandchildren.
She invited the YSAs to take out their phones and write a question in their virtual notepad: “Heavenly Father, how do You really feel about me?” She asked them to reflect on a moment when they knew for certain God loved them.
Heads bowed in quiet reflection — faces illuminated by the glow of their screens as they typed.
Empathizing with those who may have struggled to type out an answer, she assured that Heavenly Father can fill the empty space they harbor.
“I promise His love can fill that void that we feel as humans living on a fallen planet away from our heavenly home.”
‘How do we navigate our journey back home?’
Acknowledging that many may struggle with prayer — or even question its purpose — Sister Runia reminded the YSAs that Jesus Christ Himself prayed both during His mortal life and as a resurrected being.
“It made all the difference for Him, and it can for you and me too.”
Sister Runia said that like a widened lens, prayer helps her see that she is in the middle of her story — living in a world constrained by time.
“Your Heavenly Father is not bound by time. He doesn’t panic, because He knows who you are going to become.”
She offered another way to connect with God during one’s mortal journey when the “storm is raging.”
She recalled speaking at her oldest son’s funeral, looking down at his wife and four small children and finding herself asking God, “Why?”
She spoke from experience as she told the YSAs, “Not understanding is not the same as not believing” and urged them to stay tethered to Christ amid depression and discouragement.
“While I may not understand why this has happened, I absolutely believe that God knows you, and He loves you and has a plan for you.”
‘How do we make a home here?’
Sister Runia taught that spiritual bodies are strengthened by doing “those simple things that aren’t always easy.”
Opening the scriptures and praying earnestly, she said, are practices that encourage spiritual growth.
She placed special emphasis on going to the temple, underscoring that the temple is a place to learn how to return home.
“In the house of the Lord, there’s a feeling of coming home after being away because the temple is our home away from home.”
Sister Runia expressed her belief that Christ is asking each to reclaim the faith in Him before coming to mortal existence.
“He is saying, ‘Trust me,’ and we are learning how to say yes.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified when Dane Runia returned from his mission and the name of Pater Runia.
