One day when Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman’s daughter Grace was in high school, she saw a group of boys tearing the pages out of a Bible, throwing them around the school hallway and stepping on them.
Then Grace saw a boy gathering up the pages from the ground. The group of boys became angry and yelled at him, but he kept picking up the pages. Eventually they threw the Bible at him and kicked him before leaving.
When Grace reached the boy, she began to help and told him she was sorry this had happened to him.
But he responded, “I’m not.” He said: “I have been praying. I didn’t know if I was brave enough to go on a mission, and I’ve been praying for an opportunity to stand up for what I believe. And right when this happened, I knew this was my opportunity to testify what I believed with my actions.”
President Freeman shared this experience in a livestream posted to the Young Women Worldwide social media accounts on Tuesday, Aug. 4, as she discussed Chapter 11 of the “For the Strength of Youth” guide, titled “Truth Will Make You Free.”
“Sometimes,” President Freeman said, “you show that you value truth as you bravely stand for what you know is right, even if you have to stand alone.”
I sometimes felt like I had to stand alone as I grew up around the world in places where there sometimes weren’t many other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mostly I faced curiosity about the Church but sometimes animosity. After moving to a small town in northwest Missouri, a boy reminded me about the extermination order signed by Missouri’s governor in 1838, which actually wasn’t officially rescinded until 1976. Even if he was just teasing or testing me, I did not appreciate it.
I grew to treasure certain scriptures and repeat them when I needed assurance from my Heavenly Father. For instance, Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
2 Kings 6:16: “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
Psalms 27:1: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Romans 8:31: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Standing up for what is right can be done with clarity, meekness and kindness, explains Chapter 11 of the FSY guide. And President Dallin H. Oaks taught in April 2026 general conference that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can strive to follow the Savior in His teachings about how to relate to one another.
“This does not mean surrendering our values. The covenants we have made inevitably position us as devoted participants in the eternal contest between truth and error. We balance our various responsibilities,” he said.
In a devotional at Brigham Young University in February, President Oaks invited listeners to seek friends and associates who are striving to follow the Lord and with whom one can feel the Spirit.
“Protect yourself with weekly renewing your covenants by partaking of the sacrament and consistent effort to live according to those sacred covenants. Those who have been endowed should include regular attendance at the temple. In sum, stay on the covenant path. These simple practices will protect and strengthen you,” he said.
In Davao City, Philippines, for the dedication of the Davao Philippines Temple earlier this year, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the blessings of making covenants with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the house of the Lord and frequently returning to worship in the temple.
One blessing is that our perspective changes. “We know what the eventual outcome is,” Elder Renlund said in an interview prior to the dedication.
Then, in the August 2026 Liahona magazine, Elder Renlund said he has friends who read the last chapters of a novel or record a sports game so they know the ending first. Then they can read the book without feeling anxious or watch the game without being stressed.
“The ending of our stories can be glorious — eternal life in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Because we know the ending, we need not be overly anxious or stressed, even though the journey is suspenseful at times,” Elder Renlund said.
One of the promised blessings at the end of Chapter 11 in the FSY guide says: “When you stand up for the teachings of Jesus Christ, He stands with you. Jesus Christ is your strength. Others may not agree with your beliefs, but your courage and sincerity will be noticed. Whether or not others follow your example, your testimony, confidence and faith in Christ will grow.”
I know this happened for me as I stood up for my beliefs and have continued on the covenant path.
— Mary Richards is a reporter for the Church News.
