For five days during the summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the world celebrates Carnival, a pagan festival that later became the time that precedes Lent. For decades, during those five days, young Latter-day Saints in Brazil have had the chance to participate in fun and spiritual activities away from the revelry in the cities.
This summer, several stakes around the country participated in five-day For the Strength of Youth conferences. Other stakes that didn’t have FSY this year organized a four-day conference for their youth. All conferences had the 2023 Youth theme, “I Can Do All Things Through Christ” (Philippians 4:13).
Throughout the years, these meetings have become something unforgettable as they create friendships and bring together youth and leaders, strengthening testimonies in a unique way and preparing the new generation for future experiences, challenges, and blessings.
Here are a few comments from leaders and youth about this year's experiences.
Porto Alegre Brazil Stake
Since they didn’t have an FSY scheduled for this year, the Porto Alegre Brazil Stake, in Rio Grande do Sul, organized a stake conference that brought together more than 100 young women, young men—including non-members—and leaders. This year’s conference took place in Gravataí, about 45 kilometers from the stake center, far from the city and surrounded by nature.
Bishop Leonardo Pujol, from the Nonoai Ward, sees the youth conferences as a type of “modern-day Noah’s Ark, which kept the prophet’s family safe during a flood that lasted 40 days. Similarly, "the youth conference is the ideal refuge from dangerous ... activities in Brazil during Carnival.”
He continued: “The activities were planned since June 2022, both by adult stake leaders and youth from all six wards in the stake.”
Despite the unexpected cold and rain, he said everything worked out, giving credit to the youth on the committee who put a lot of effort into it. He pointed out that, although young people are seen as tomorrow’s leaders, they already are “an indispensable part of today’s leadership.”
Bishop Pujol also saw it as a pattern for teens’ lives at home. “At the conference, they get up early, study the scriptures and ‘Come, Follow Me,’ keep the Sabbath day holy, eat at least three good meals a day, play sports, build new friendships, develop talents and have fun. ... I plan to reinforce this aspect with the youth in my ward, hoping they adopt this lifestyle.”
As a highlight, at the end of the four days, the owner of the location, his family and the staff were invited to the stage to receive a thank you from all the youth and leaders. Then, they sang the theme song, “I Can Do Everything in Christ.”
“Because we sang this song over and over again for four days, some people from the place started singing the song by heart,” shared Bishop Pujol. “It wasn’t just beautiful; it was exciting. It shows that Christ is not just the foundation of Church members. He is everyone’s foundation. Each and every person needs to know this — that they can do all things through Christ.”
Florianópolis Brazil Stake
On the first day of the youth conference, the youth were shy at first and would talk only to friends from their own ward. The leaders told them to choose a “canga” or a buddy so they would not be alone.
One of the young men, Arthur Ribeiro Alves, said his main objective during the conference was to make new friends.
He described his experience: “We had four meals daily, and that was the best time to meet people and make new friendships. We also had dances on Saturday and Tuesday, which were great, and the meetings on Sunday were amazing.”
One youth from each ward was invited to give a talk, and Arthur was one of them. He described the talks as “incredible.”
Throughout the days he was able to make lots of friends, and he said that the best part was an activity by a bonfire, when the participants had a chance to share some of their feelings about the conference.
By the end, each one wrote a sin or weakness on a piece of paper and threw it on the fire. “Almost everyone started crying, it was the best spiritual experience that I had in my life,” Arthur said.
Palhoça Brazil Stake
Larissa M. Motta Yopán, a leader in Santa Catarina from the Palhoça Brazil Stake, also expressed her feelings about being part of the stake youth conference.
“What incredible days I lived there with these brave young people. My love for this youth tripled. What a powerful group! This generation’s empathy, love, respect for others, and intelligence is extraordinary—no doubt they are all noble spirits who have been prepared for the challenges of our times,” Yopán said.
Ribeirão Preto East Brazil Stake
Luciene Barros and her husband, Elder Bruno V. Barros, an Area Seventy from the Maceió Brazil Stake, were assigned to preside and coordinate the 2023 FSY for the Ribeirão Preto East Brazil Stake.
Maria Eduarda Souza dos Santos, a young woman at the conference, mentioned about having a spiritual experience while singing “I Stand All Amazed.” She said she had a feeling that while they sang, they were not alone but had the presence of the Lord’s angels to help them during the conference.
She mentioned that a young man in their company has cancer and was very sad because he missed the activities the day before. The company got together and did new activities just for him.
At the testimony meeting, he bore his testimony of how much he loved them for helping him to feel better. “I started crying and felt very strongly the presence of the Holy Ghost next to me,” Luciene said.
