As Young Men General President Timothy L. Farnes has ministered in countries around the world, he has been inspired by the youth he meets.
“The youth around the world are incredible,” he said during a live streaming video on the Young Men Worldwide social media accounts on June 9, soon after returning from a ministry assignment in Asia.
“Everywhere I go, I’m thoroughly inspired and lifted and strengthened. They have strong testimonies. They have a desire to know the Savior and to do His work and to know what part they play in the work.”
Beginning this September, young men and young women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have a new curriculum. With the Sunday class schedule change, the first 25 minutes of the second hour will be for Sunday School classes and the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum. Then, after a five-minute period, youth will meet in their Young Women age groups and Aaronic Priesthood quorum meetings for 25 minutes, to study the expanded “For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices.”
Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman said as youth look through every chapter of the guide, they will find the teaching, “Jesus Christ is your strength.”
“It is my favorite part of this book,” she said in a live video on the Young Women Worldwide account on June 2.
President Farnes said studying the guide will help youth come to a deeper understanding of the Savior. “This has the Savior all over it. He is our strength.”
The printed guides have been shipped throughout the world, President Farnes explained, and he invited leaders who have received the guides to give them to the youth right away.
What each Sunday will look like
The FSY guide now has 12 chapters, one for each month. Supplemental materials will be available to help with the study of the guide that will be printed in the For the Strength of Youth magazine and also will be available in the Gospel Library.
Elder David P. Homer, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department, said the lessons will reference fast Sunday and the last Sunday of the month when the youth meet as a ward, but these Sundays might change depending on holidays, stake conferences or general conferences. Then there are lessons that are available to be used in the other weeks, he explained on the Church News podcast.
Fast Sunday lesson. This is the anchor and introduces the topic for the month. Youth will go into the guide, study the eternal truths, accept invitations and consider the promised blessings. “That’s kind of the anchor of the study for the month, and they start there,” Elder Homer said.
Last Sunday lesson. This is a summation of what they’ve been learning. The youth will also study scripture heroes that demonstrate the principles that they have been studying all month long — young women will study women from the scriptures, and young men will study men in the scriptures. “This is really a time for them to consider: ‘Who am I? Who am I becoming? Who does the Lord want me to be?’ Elder Homer said.
President Farnes said studying a chapter a month will deepen understanding of the core doctrine and eternal truths in the guide and lead to a more inspired way of living.
“And then to end on a scripture hero that will turn us to the Savior and help us understand more fully His attributes and and our divine identity, who we are and who He wants us to be — I am so excited for what this offers,” he said.
For the young women, the last Sunday lessons will teach about their purpose as women in God’s plan as they learn from women in scriptures, President Freeman said. “Each month you will get to meet a new woman from scripture, and you are going to love what we’re going to learn and study together.”
Other Sunday lessons. These are intended to support what the youth began to learn in the “For the Strength of Youth” guide that month. Supplemental materials for these lessons are in that month’s For the Strength of Youth magazine.
The sequence of the lessons is important, Elder Homer noted, so if any wards or branches need to make adjustments, “don’t lose the fast Sunday lesson and the last Sunday lesson.”
On Aug. 30, which is the fifth Sunday in August, youth, children who will turn 12 in 2027, their parents and their leaders will attend a meeting to watch a video presentation describing the new youth curriculum.
More information about the Sunday changes, including the implementation guide, can be found at Sunday.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Youth have been invited to read the entire FSY guide before Sept. 6. A weekly FSY study guide is in the Gospel Library app. The Young Men and Young Women general presidencies have been posting weekly on social media about their studies along with the For the Strength of Youth social media accounts.
