Thousands of youth and their leaders braved inclement weather, travel challenges and language and culture barriers to find strength in Jesus Christ and each other in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand “For the Strength of Youth” conferences.
The recent Pacific area FSY conferences were held during the region’s summer months of December 2024 and January 2025. For some areas, this was either a first-time event or marked the return of the conference after a few years, according to the Church’s Papua New Guinea and Pacific Area newsrooms.
‘Christ will bless and change you’
Vanuatu saw its first FSY conference in December when nearly 1,000 youth and youth leaders from three island nations speaking three different languages gathered in Port Vila. Teens ages 14 to 18 traveled from Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and the outer islands of Vanuatu.
Pauline Daniel, one of the FSY Port Vila coordinators, felt the conference helped the youth to socialize with each other and make new friends at the same time it “strengthened their faith in our Savior.”
Briedley, from the Solomon Islands, learned to focus on Christ through scripture study and prayer. “He will bless you and change you, and life will be easier,” Briedley said.
Ready to overcome challenges and seize opportunities
Coming from both urban neighborhoods and rural villages, more than 4,000 youth from across Papua New Guinea set aside cultural differences as they shared their testimonies of Jesus Christ, the Church’s Papua New Guinea Newsroom said of the December conferences.
Many of Papua New Guinea’s Latter-day Saints live in remote villages amid jungle forests. Youth in these areas took motorboats down winding rivers to access the roads leading to their nearest FSY location.
Organizers of the Daru Island FSY had to make some preemptive changes due to high wind predictions which could have prevented two-thirds of youth from being able to attend due to safety issues. These youth would be arriving by boat from remote river and island villages. Last-minute adjustments and accommodations four days before the event provided the way for all 600 youth to attend the conference.
The report noted a lot of excitement among members about the announced and still-to-be-built temple in Kiribati and that FSY conferences are preparing their youth to be temple-ready.
“The now-rising generation will be ready to seize the opportunities they have earned by their enthusiasm, strength, dedication and testimonies of Jesus Christ,” Newsroom wrote.
Choosing the Savior together
FSY conferences in New Zealand and Australia brought thousands of teenagers together in January to strengthen faith, make friends and have fun.
Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, talked about FSY conferences in a recent podcast interview with Church News. She said the Church is seeing the youth benefit from these gatherings by forming faith-strengthening friendships. She commented on an event in Australia she had previously attended.
“You could tell that these were young people that just craved that energy and that light and being together,” she observed.
Sister Runia said these gatherings are helping youth worldwide, noting that it is especially important for young people who live far from each other.
In a devotional at the recent New Zealand FSY, Elder Jared V. Ormsby, an Area Seventy, spoke about this year’s youth theme, “Focus on Christ.”
“We have to choose Christ, we have to choose the Savior,” said Elder Ormsby, reassuring the youth that Jesus Christ would always be there for them.
“He will never let us down; He can heal anything and anyone in this life,” he said. “All we have to do is ‘look to the Savior and live.’”
Celine Piakura, a youth who came to the conference from the Cook Islands, shared how focusing on Christ helped her recognize and make a difficult decision.
“I had to turn to the Savior when I was having trouble with friends. They weren’t doing good things,” said Piakura, recalling how her belief and testimony helped her understand what she needed to do.
“I had to make some sacrifices and let go of some friends in order to feel happy and follow the Savior,” she said.
‘For the Strength of Youth’ Conferences throughout the Pacific area
The Church’s Pacific Area congregations are located in 17 different countries and territories. Other area FSY conferences have been held in American Samoa, French Polynesia, Tonga and Fiji.
