Over the past few weeks, youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered in different corners of the globe to strengthen their discipleship, deepen friendships and prepare to be leaders in their communities.
From a forested island in Canada to a village in South Korea, from the mountains of East Malaysia to the islands of the Philippines and the conference halls of Italy, the message was the same: Look unto Christ in every thought (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:36).
British Columbia: Leadership and service in action
On Canada’s Southern Vancouver Island, 300 young women from across British Columbia traveled — some more than 1,000 kilometers — to gather at Camp Barnard for five days of devotionals, outdoor adventure and leadership training, reported the Church’s Canada Newsroom.
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, joined the camp and spoke about discipleship and the influence of women in scripture, urging the young women to use their faith and skills to bless families, congregations and communities.
“Young Women’s camp is a great opportunity for the girls to develop spiritually and socially,” she said. “It’s also a wonderful opportunity to practice other skills that will help them be great leaders in the Church, at work and in the community.”
More than 50 participants served as youth camp leaders, ages 16 and up, planning activities, leading devotionals and guiding younger campers.
One youth leader, 16-year-old Amberleigh Mercado from Abbotsford, British Columbia, said: “In the beginning, I felt a sense of responsibility to make this camp a memorable and spiritually uplifting experience [for] the group of girls I was in charge of. This feeling helped me see each one of them as a daughter of God. … I could see, even just a bit, of how the Lord sees us.”
Service stretched beyond Canada’s borders. In a “Love for Lesotho” project, campers painted pictures and wrote messages of comfort for survivors of the June bus accident in Lesotho, Africa.
Elder Vern P. Stanfill, General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s new Canada Area, also joined the event and said that Young Women camp “teaches youth how to be compassionate and how to care for one another — how to lift one another. I think that’s the most important thing they can learn at this age.”
South Korea: Learning perseverance and patience
From July 31 to Aug. 2, about 40 youth from the Daejeon Korea and Daegu Korea stakes gathered in South Korea for a three-day camp, reported the Church’s Korea Newsroom.
They studied the “For the Strength of Youth” guide, participated in devotionals and joined in a “Journey of Faith” activity designed to help them understand the unity and perseverance of early believers.
“Through my journey of faith, I discovered how to incorporate the gospel into my daily life,” said Bae Seo-yoon from the Daegu Korea Stake.
President Yang Soo Jung, president of the Daejeon stake, told participants that half the value of the camp was in applying what they learned. Elder Woo Cheol Lee, an Area Seventy, told them that the conference was “a precious time from an eternal perspective. I hope you can become friends who will never be alone on your journey to God.”
The camp closed with testimony sharing, strengthened friendships and commitments to continue serving together.
Thailand: Building faith across borders at FSY
From July 31 to Aug. 5, 139 youth from around the Asia Area of the Church gathered in Thailand for a For the Strength of Youth conference — a rare chance to connect with peers who share their faith but live scattered across 13 countries.
Throughout the week, youth participated in devotionals, workshops, scripture study, dances and a service project for children at the Mercy Center in Bangkok. For some, FSY offered their first opportunity to attend such a large Church gathering, reported the Church’s Hong Kong Newsroom.
“There’s only one stake in Singapore, and not enough youth for our own FSY,” said 18-year-old Evelyn Cheong, a recent convert. “I had never met so many Church members my age until I arrived here. The large group makes the experience very powerful.”
Crista Li, 17, comes from Malaysia, where the Church’s presence is also small, with only two youth in her unit. “Although the schedule is intense with packed activities every day, I appreciate how everything here encourages me to prioritize spiritual things, and it’s so much easier to do it together with a group of people,” she said.
Isaac Woolford, a coordinator for the conference, said, “It’s so cool that FSY is now going to be a part of that conversion story and why there’s more multigenerational families throughout the Church, especially in developing countries where the Church has just started.”
A special moment of this conference came on Sunday — while most FSY sessions end before the Sabbath, they had permission to extend it one more day.
Elder Benjamin M.Z. Tai, General Authority Seventy and president of the Asia Area, joined them for a special sacrament meeting. Reflecting on that meeting, he said: “Watching the priests, the deacons, passing the sacrament and blessing it with such care and respect was really powerful. I had a vision of the future of the Church: They organize themselves; they administer the ordinances themselves; they make covenants by themselves. It’s very powerful.”
Philippines: Music and ministry in Davao City
In Davao City, Philippines, more than 2,000 youth and young single adults gathered on Aug. 2 for Festival 2025: A Youth Concert — the first event in the country to feature music from the Strive to Be 2025 album, reported the Church’s Philippines Newsroom.
“We love you,” Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Philippines Area presidency, told the crowd. “The Church and the whole world will need people like you, the rising generation, to help prepare the people and the earth for the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
With performances by both popular Filipino artists and Latter-day Saint musicians, the concert drew an additional 15,000 participants through livestreams.
One of the performers, Brandon Sorilla, expressed gratitude for the lessons he learned while performing.
“I feel really blessed for the opportunity to sing and perform,” he said. “Through this experience, I learned to trust the Lord Jesus Christ more. He sees us. He knows us. He knows exactly what we need at exactly the right time.”
Italy and Albania: Service through school kits
In Grosseto, Italy, 550 youth from Italy and Albania combined faith with action, assembling 1,250 school kits for children in need during their FSY conference, reported the Church’s Italy Newsroom.
The service project included backpacks, notebooks and pencil cases. “When we serve little elementary school children, we are simultaneously serving our Father by helping those beautiful children,” said Elea Deli from Albania, pointing to Mosiah 2:17.
Participants expressed feeling useful while serving. “This feeling brought us all together,” said Giorgio di Martino, adding, “because we knew this service would benefit children in need.”
East Malaysia: Hope of Israel in the rainforest
On June 6 and 7, 38 young women from the Sibu District in East Malaysia gathered for two days of spiritual growth and outdoor fun, reported the Church’s Malaysia Newsroom.
As part of the camp, youth studied Church President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson’s 2018 worldwide youth devotional, “Hope of Israel." Activities included a “faith walk” based on President Nelson’s five invitations to youth. Other activities included a study focused on life’s big questions, customized covers of their copies of the Book of Mormon and games.
Weena Lim, who participated in the camp, said that she learned “to love others is to serve them.”
“I witnessed how much effort the leaders poured into making this camp meaningful for everyone who attended,” she said. “I could feel a strong presence of the Holy Ghost throughout the camp and was deeply touched by the faith shown by everyone.”
‘Doubt not, fear not’
Whether on a wooded Canadian trail, on a South Korean hillside, in a Thai conference hall, at a Philippine concert stage, during an Italian service project or in a Malaysian rainforest, these youth learned that discipleship is active. They rappelled down cliffs, hiked summits, sang hymns, painted for strangers in need, carried one another’s burdens and stood to bear testimony of Jesus Christ.
“This camp will be a key moment in their discipleship journey,” said Elder M. Travis Wolsey, Area Seventy in British Columbia. Across cultures and continents, young Latter-day Saints studied and committed to Doctrine and Covenants 6:36: “Look unto [Christ] in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”
