For the Strength of Youth conferences, also known as FSY, are designed to help youth have fun as they apply the gospel in all aspects of their lives. At FSY, youth participate in five days of devotionals, classes and activities to help guide them in strengthening their faith in Jesus Christ and in feeling joy and belonging as they live the gospel.
In this episode of the Church News podcast, Church News reporter Mary Richards discusses the uplifting potential and divine inspiration behind these sessions with the Young Women and Young Men general presidency counselors: Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, Brother Michael T. Nelson, Sister Tamara W. Runia and Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus.
Together, they talk about FSY and focus on how the 2025 youth theme, “Look unto Christ,” can impact the lives and growth of faithful youth worldwide.
Listen to this episode of the Church News podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, bookshelf PLUS, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript:
Sister Tamara W. Runia: I’m so grateful for this chance to share the feelings that we have about FSY, for an opportunity these young people have to step away from a social mirror that they look at every day and see a reflection of themselves that may not be accurate, to seeing themselves through a divine mirror, a godlike mirror that reflects back to them who they truly are. And they can experience that at an FSY. This is such a wonderful opportunity for these young people to sort of ingest this theme, this idea, and we extrapolate. It’s not just “Look unto Christ,” but it’s the whole “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” So you have these devotionals during FSY that are centered on these ideas of promoting and encouraging faith in Jesus Christ — not in outcomes, but in Him, in Christ — and how this theme can inform their decisions and help them to have a life that the foundation of Christ is there in a real way.
1:08
Jon Ryan Jensen: This is Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1:22
Mary Richards: For the Strength of Youth conferences are designed to help youth have fun as they apply the gospel in all aspects of their life. At FSY, youth participate in five days of devotionals, classes and activities to help them strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ and feel joy and belonging as they live the gospel.
I’m Mary Richards, a reporter with the Church News, and on this episode of the Church News podcast, I’m delighted to welcome the counselors in the Young Men and Young Women general presidencies. We have Brother Bradley R. Wilcox here.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Hi, Mary. It’s always good to be with you.
Mary Richards: And Brother Michael T. Nelson is here.
Brother Michael T. Nelson: Thank you, Mary. Nice to be here.
Mary Richards: Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus.
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: A pleasure to be with all of you.
Mary Richards: And Sister Tamara W. Runia, welcome.
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Thank you. Hello, friends.
2:07
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Now, Mary, we have to ask you: Why have you excluded the presidents on this interview?
Mary Richards: We had them on another podcast. They talked all about this year’s youth theme, “Look unto Christ,” and that’s the theme of this year’s FSY conferences too, isn’t it, Brother Wilcox?
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Exactly.
Mary Richards: What can you tell youth? Why should they go to FSY?
2:28
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: You already mentioned that FSY is an opportunity for them to have fun and live the gospel. And for many of our youth, they’ve never put those two things in the same sentence before. They’ve never said, “Oh, I can have fun, and I can live the gospel at the same time.” And FSY gives them that chance to experience it. They meet new friends, they meet role models and their counselors, and it’s so exciting for them to get into a pattern. Even young people who come from strong Latter-day Saint homes, they just have never read the scriptures on their own for five days in a row, and they’ve never prayed on their own for five days in a row. And once they start getting into that pattern, then they start seeing how easy it is and also how beneficial it is, then they start realizing that this can become part of their lives.
3:20
Mary Richards: And maybe Sister Runia, I’ll address this to you: They’re busy youth. They might have a lot of things going on, but what would you tell our youth why they should prioritize this in particular?
3:30
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Yes, that’s such a good question, because there are family reunions, sports camps, a lot of things on their calendar and on their plates. But I love this thought that God wants to give us something, but He cannot because our hands are full. And I love that idea that there are a lot of good things that are out there in front of us, and especially if it’s a family reunion, but to be really prayerful as a family and especially as an individual about what could happen at a camp.
Maybe something, just as Brother Wilcox explains, something you hadn’t anticipated. I think at these camps, they have aha moments, where, “Oh yeah,” it’s almost a remembering or a recalling of a truth that they knew even premortally, they’ll have that moment. They can have a “Hmm” moment where something they hadn’t considered before, they hear it couched or taught in a different way, and it stays with them. That’s the thing, is they remember these experiences long after the week has ended. And I say it’s almost like when you swallow chewing gum, doesn’t that stay with you for like eight years? So that’s our end game, is to have these experiences that the youth are having at these camps and conferences to stay with them and to change them, ultimately.
4:44
Mary Richards: Yeah. Brother Nelson or Sister Spannaus, anything to add on that? Why should they go?
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: Well, I can add that they will be taking care of their spirit, so their relationship with Heavenly Father, and they will be preparing the soul to make very important decisions that will shape their lives. So, it looks like a very small decision, but we know that by small things, we can achieve great results.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Yeah, that’s beautiful.
5:12
Brother Michael T. Nelson: One of the things that is very evident at the conferences is that the large group that you are individually there in your own way, but a part of a large global group that think the same, that believe the same and are trying to live the same. What isn’t as evident on the surface is what is going on inside the individuals and where we have, as Brother Wilcox mentioned, scripture study at home, as a family, or with a class or quorum, we don’t often have those individual moments.
And this is a time to not separate from home and family, but to independently develop a week long of habits that inspire throughout the time when we go back home, so we see all of the great activities, the fun, the spiritual moments, the learning, what we don’t hear until sacrament meeting testimonies or when a missionary is preparing to leave and speaks in sacrament meeting, that’s when we see what’s going on individually in these conferences.
6:32
Mary Richards: Yeah. That “one by one” idea is just so crucial to me. And I think about raising my own boys. I have, in this January, I have a missionary, a priest, a teacher and a deacon. And so we’re getting excited to prepare another one to go to FSY this year. And so, of course, this is around the time of year that parents and youth and leaders are thinking, “Wait a minute. What do I need to know? What do I need to be doing and when?”
Brother Wilcox, can you help us know some of those details that people want to know?
7:00
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: I think the best resource is right at a website for the Church: It says FSY.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. They have all the answers there, and even the sessions that are available and how to get registered and what the person needs to bring with them, all those questions are right there. You can also reach out to others in your stake or ward who’ve gone before, because at this point, we’ve got a lot of youth who’ve already attended, and we’ve got a lot of leaders in wards and stakes who are actually called to help young people as they register and as they get things put together so that they can go and have a good experience.
7:47
Mary Richards: Yeah. I should point out, too, that in January and February, we have our South American areas having their FSYs already. And so kudos to them. We’re wishing them good luck right now as they’re listening and having that FSY experience. And so, again, FSY.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, and that’s where you see questions for your area — off-cycle, on-cycle registration; when, if it’s not your year, can you still go; all those questions are there.
8:14
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: And Mary, do you know that in July, we are going to have a Salt Lake City session in Spanish, only in Spanish? And then we are going to have also an ASL session in Provo at BYU university. And there are going to be some Spanish-supported sessions in North America. And that means a session will be in English, but with translation in Spanish. And also in Canada, we are going to have the supported sessions in French.
8:46
Mary Richards: That is so wonderful for all our youth to hear in their own language the gospel. And I would say to our listeners you can find out more about that information when you go to the “Frequently Asked Questions” and look for “Language Support” on that website for FSY to find out more details.
We also want to share details, too, about counselors at FSY. And Brother Nelson, you have some things to share about that topic.
9:08
Brother Michael T. Nelson: Sure. I could go on all day long about the benefit that counselorship is to those who participate as counselors. Many returned missionaries say that it is exactly what they did on their mission. It takes them right back to much of the ministering, the teaching, the support and the lifting of other people, that they are reliving their mission during that week.
It is work, but it’s great service. And one of the great secret sauces that we know of the FSY conferences, what makes them successful, is the near-peer relationship between a young adult and the youth. There’s a relationship and a bond that takes place within those groups that last forever. They stay in contact with each other for months and years, as we’ve seen.
I’m reminded of a Luis in Canada who wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to serve a mission just because of some health issues that he was dealing with. And yet, he served as a counselor in two of the provinces of Canada. And Brother Wilcox got to know him in Quebec, I think it was, and I got to know him in Calgary. And we just received word of his mission call to Vancouver that he will start in February. That experience as a counselor in those two areas helped him have the confidence, and his leaders the confidence, that he would be able to serve a mission successfully.
Mary Richards: Wow. FSY changes lives for the youth, for the counselors, for all those involved, it sounds like.
11:06
Brother Michael T. Nelson: Likewise, one of the things that happens among the counselors is that they develop a very close bond among each other. They spend time in an orientation, they spend time in training, and they get very close. And many of those relationships go far beyond the FSY conference. We know many serve missions. We also know of many marriages that have come as a result of serving together at an FSY conference as a counselor.
11:39
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Yeah, it’s always fun to go to those wedding receptions and to see them going back and talking about their stories and how they met as FSY counselors. It really is remarkable if you think about how much money the Church invests in this program for the youth, and for the youth, it only costs $75. And if they can’t handle that, then there’s many wards that will just pick up that expense themselves. But for that little amount, they have an entire week at a university campus, where they have the food, the dormitories, all the experiences. And so it’s remarkable the amount that the Church is willing to invest.
But even more remarkable is the fact that that is all trusted to the young adults. If you go to a session — and we all have — you can count on five fingers the number of adults over 30. There’s a session director and her husband, or a session director and his wife, there’s a few seminary teachers, and that’s about it. And the rest is all run by the young adults. So this huge investment is trusted to the YSA, and they are actually getting paid. In North America, it is a job for them.
So it’s not a calling, or it’s not a volunteer thing, but they can actually be paid. It’s about $800 a month for the counselor, plus room and board. And then those that are coordinators and health counselors get paid a little bit more. And so it’s not a huge amount, but as they work several weeks throughout the summer, they can put some money away for school. So, some young men and young women think, “I can’t afford to do FSY, because I’ve got to get some money for school.” No, I tell them, “You don’t have to do summer sales. You can participate with FSY, and you can still put a little money away for the future.” So it’s a great opportunity for these young people.
But most importantly, they make a difference. They make a difference in the lives of these teenagers. They become these touchable heroes. They’re just enough older than the youth that the youth think they’re cool, and the young adults don’t think they’re cool, but the youth think they’re cool. And they’re able to see in their counselors the role models of saying, “I want to be like that.” And that is powerful.
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Amen.
14:15
Mary Richards: You’ve been nodding along, Sister Runia. You’ve seen these examples of young adults who are just so great.
Sister Tamara W. Runia: They are. And I had the — I think last year — we had the opportunity to go recruiting on campuses and trying to talk to them about this opportunity. And I just asked the class in one of the recruitment sessions, I just said, “Is there anyone here who has had an experience as a counselor?”
And I just remember one young man who kind of reluctantly raised his hand but said, “I came home from my mission, and all of those good habits that I had just kind of — I fell off the map. I just wasn’t able to do those on a regular basis. I became an FSY counselor, and because of that experience of testifying and teaching and mentoring these young people,” he said, “I have not stopped doing those things that I helped them get in a routine doing because of the experience of being that counselor.”
And he just kind of bore testimony to the people in that class that you go into it thinking, kind of like Brother Wilcox said, “They’re going to look up to me, they’re going to think I’m cool,” and he said just the opposite happened. “I had an experience where serving changed me and changed my view of who I could be” and really helped him at an important time in his life. I love that story.
15:38
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Speaking of recruiting, we’re in pretty good shape as far as numbers of young women who’ve applied to be counselors, but we still need some young men. And so, anybody listening, if you think of a really sharp young man who would be wonderful in this kind of a situation, go light a fire under that kid, and tell him that we need him, because we’ve got about one-third of the applications that have been turned in by young men. And so, go light a fire under that young man, and tell him that we need him to come and make a difference. We need more young men to step up and be willing to come and help us out.
Mary Richards: What age range are we talking about?
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Nineteen to 30 and single.
16:22
Brother Michael T. Nelson: And that’s why we lose some, because they develop a relationship, then they get married. So we like to lose them that way from working the next year. But during those recruiting classes at the university campuses, I always started like Sister Runia does, by asking, “Who has done this? Who has participated in FSY conferences, and who has worked as a counselor?” And that ended my need to promote. Just hearing the testimony and the experience of that one who had participated created the interest.
And to Brother Wilcox’s point, when it was a young woman in a class that was the one who was a counselor the year before, and then the other men would see, that increased the interest, also, of the young men. Others that had an interest or no interest would see the quality and the experience of the people who had served or worked before. That created greater interest in their participation. And the counselors have weekends off because the youth have gone home, and they don’t come again until the beginning of the next week. So they have weekends together, and so they’re able to tour wherever they’re at and go see the sites and do activities and go to meetings on Sunday with their peer counselors.
17:56
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: And for the counselors, if you love your mission, you’re going to love being a counselor, because the experience is pretty similar, that preaching the gospel, when you are 24 hours invested in the Lord’s work, it’s like that. You are going to be teaching, testifying, helping the youth. So if you loved your mission, be a counselor, because you’re going to love it.
18:20
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: For more information about becoming a counselor, go to FSYemployment.byu.edu.
Mary Richards: They all go through BYU for any session?
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Right.
18:34
Mary Richards: OK. The 2025 youth theme is “Look unto Christ.” How is that going to be a part of FSY this year, Sister Runia?
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Oh, I love this theme so much. It’s one of my all-time favorites. Well, I’ve loved all of them. But this is such a wonderful opportunity for these young people to sort of ingest this theme, this idea, and we extrapolate. It’s not just “Look unto Christ,” but it’s the whole scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 6:36, that phrase, “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”
So you have these devotionals during FSY that are centered on these ideas of promoting and encouraging faith in Jesus Christ — not in outcomes, but in Him, in Christ — and all of the things that go with that as young people and the real-life struggles that they’re having, and how this theme can inform their decisions and help them to have a life that the foundation of Christ is there in a real way.
I love this theme so much. When I was a younger person, an Apostle of the Lord said, “If you memorize a scripture, it becomes your friend.” I don’t know if you remember this, but this was one of the first scriptures that I remember memorizing and almost using it like a psalm or a prayer throughout my day: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” And it’s become a friend, like a best friend, for me, and I’m hoping that that can happen at these FSY conferences for the youth.
20:00
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: That theme also becomes part of the music that they’re hearing throughout the week. Sometimes it’s counselors singing to them. Sometimes it’s participants singing and participating in a musical program. Sometimes it’s just big group singalongs. But the music is also centered around this theme and helping them realize that they can choose trust over doubt and faith over fear.
20:25
Mary Richards: Sister Spannaus, what would you like to say about the youth theme as well?
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: Well, our thoughts are really important and have an immense power, because they have the power to modify our feelings and also our actions. And we can see that in the example of Nephi and Laman and Lemuel, because they have the same journey, but for Nephi, the experience was completely different from Laman and Lemuel. So we can choose what we want to think, and so we can choose what we want to feel, and also our actions, because our actions are fueled by our thoughts, right? So I think that when we have Jesus Christ in our thoughts, it can make a huge difference in our lives — in the way that we see our challenges, in the way that we relate with people, that we pick our friends — in everything that we do.
21:24
Brother Michael T. Nelson: So, when I hear as Sister Spannaus is describing our thoughts and thinking of Jesus Christ and keeping Him present in our thoughts, the words of President Russell M. Nelson come to my mind when he says that Jesus Christ is the answer. He almost puts a comma there. Jesus Christ is the answer, His teachings and His example. One of the nice parts of the study during the week at the FSY conference is it isn’t just studying about Jesus Christ. It’s actually a focus on His teachings and on His example that carry with us, kind of like you hope the gum does for eight years.
22:15
Mary Richards: I want to hear some of your stories and experiences about youth in particular. What have you seen about how youth have been changed, their lives have changed, through FSY?
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: Well, I know about this story about Mauro. Mauro was invited by his friend to attend an FSY a few years ago. He was not a member of the Church, but after that experience, he loved it, so he started to receive the missionaries at home and started learning with his family about the Church. So then all the family, complete family, got baptized. And now Mauro is serving as a missionary, and he is in the Florida Tampa Mission. So what a wonderful experience, right? FSY has this power to change the lives of the people because of the Spirit that they can feel there, because they are learning about Christ and feeling the Holy Ghost.
23:12
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: And that’s a good point, Sister Spannaus, that people are invited who are not members of our faith. Young people can invite their friends, they can invite cousins, they can invite others to come and be a part of this and enjoy it. There are lots of people from other faiths who come and participate, and there’s no expectation that they will join the Church. They’re just there to enjoy the week along with their friends. And we hope that our young members of the Church will feel like this is a really safe place where they can invite their friends. They might feel nervous about inviting them to a Church meeting or something, but in this environment, on a university campus, it’s just a fun youth gathering, and it makes it very easy for people to invite friends.
24:01
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: And we know that there are a lot of Mauros out there, right?
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Exactly. Well, and I love what you said, both of you, about this idea that it is a space where there’s an exchange of light taking place, and it’s maybe in a different way than they’ve experienced before, in a Church meeting or even when they go to the temple, but this is a place where they’re feeling the light and the joy — “the church of joy,” so to speak.
And that was, I think, one of the first statistics we heard when we came into this calling a year and a half ago, was that FSY was really moving the needle. These programs were moving the needle as far as the youth are concerned. But for me, it’s personal. I’ve got six of my 16 grandchildren who have had experiences at FSY, and they’ve talked about this feeling, this light that they experience.
One of my grandsons, Asher, mentioned that he was in a group, a company, that was really talkative, had a lot of fun. Maybe they were leaning heavily on the joy part. He said it was kind of a boisterous group. But after they sang a song, the medley that they sing there, the —
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: “As Sisters in Zion” and “We’ll Bring the World His Truth.” Boy, I’ll tell you, that is a moment.
25:11
Sister Tamara W. Runia: That’s exactly what he said. He said, “After we sang that medley, for two hours, between that song and the testimony meeting, it was silent.” He said, “I would never have imagined that that could happen with this group.” But because of what they felt — that light — they’ll remember that for the rest of their lives.
So as families and parents are being prayerful about what activities to attend or things to do this summer, I hope that they will really consider the weight and that they’re choosing the better part, if it fits into a family reunion or into a summer schedule, but to really make it a priority, because it does move that needle, as a group but also individually.
25:54
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: I think it’s important to point out also that stakes don’t typically go together as a stake. There are times when stakes can have youth conferences. Stakes should obviously be having a Young Women camp and an Aaronic Priesthood quorum camp. Those are times when stakes can bond together. But at FSY, if the stake is saying, “Well, we’re trying to go on this week” and a kid can’t go, choose another week, choose another session, go to a different campus. There’s nothing that binds a kid to a specific week or to a specific group. They can go anywhere they want.
Now, as we get out of population areas where there’s a strong Church influence, then the Church provides travel in buses. And so, yes, stakes will often go together, but then they’ll gather with other stakes. So these groups, these companies, that the youth are put into, they’ll have young people from all over the place. So this isn’t necessarily the time to bond with people from your ward or bond with people from your stake, and that’s part of the reason that it’s successful, is that young people can go, and they can reinvent themselves. They can go, and they can decide, “I’m going to be more outgoing,” because nobody’s expecting them to be the same kind of person they’ve always been.
Sister Tamara W. Runia: I love that.
27:20
Brother Michael T. Nelson: And to someone that might be more timid or a little less confident to go out to a weeklong activity like this without their close group, the entire structure of the conference allows individual choices throughout. You’re a part of a company and a group that you do many things together, but there are also classes throughout the day that you go to the class of your choice. I went to a class last summer that was on building resilience — physical and mental, emotional resilience — and I sat in that class and learned all about diet and exercise and how to build healthy habits that can strengthen me. And so, watching someone that might be a little reluctant to go to a conference alone will find that they fit in, because everyone else is as individual as they are.
28:24
Mary Richards: I love that you’re sharing these examples, because that’s what I saw in my own family. My oldest son decided, “I’m going to go to FSY” at this particular time. He didn’t know anybody, and it was perfect preparation for his mission. He didn’t know his roommate, he didn’t know anybody else, and he was ready for a mission after that, to meet a strange companion and to not know anybody in his district at the MTC. It was perfect preparation.
My next son went with a friend, and they were roommates, because you can pick your roommate in there. You can each do that as you register. And that was also a great experience for him, because he had his friend there for times when he was a little bit nervous or shy, but then they grew and learned together. They went to some classes together. They went to others separately. They made so many new friends since then that they reach out to and text to this day, and that was two years ago for that son.
So, as a mother, I really appreciate you sharing all of that and add my encouragement to those listening for those experiences.
29:18
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: It’s good for young people to have to stretch out of their comfort zone, and this gives them a safe place to stretch out of their comfort zone and, as one of the FSY coordinators always likes to say, step into the Comforter’s zone. And that happens over and over and over.
Mary Richards: I love that.
29:42
Brother Michael T. Nelson: Mary, you remind me: Two years ago, friends of ours called and said, “Our 15-year-old son is just not wanting to participate in Church activities. He’s into music that we think is not very uplifting. What’s a program you think we should send him to?” He lives in another state. They live in another state. And they had had their list of some of these build-the-youth programs that they could put their son in. And I said, “Well, have you thought of the FSY conference?” And they were able to talk him into going to an FSY conference that was two hours from their home. And they got the typical messages the first two days, “How could you ever make me do this? I don’t want to be here. I’m coming home.”
30:36
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Yeah, moms, please turn off your phones on Monday, because that’s all you’re going to hear. “Get me out of here. I want to go home. This is dumb.” And you’ll hear it all day Monday, but then things change.
30:49
Brother Michael T. Nelson: A little bit on Tuesday, there might be a little bit, so leave the phone still off. And he continued into Wednesday morning, and he stayed. And then the parents didn’t hear anything from him at all, and they thought, “Well, they’ve either — he’s not coming home.” She called, the mother called, on Saturday after he got home, she called Saturday evening, and I was wondering if they were going to say, “This was the worst thing for him. What did you do to our son?” et cetera, et cetera.
And she began with, “I want to know what they did to our son.” And I thought, “OK, this will be an interesting phone call.” Had my fingers crossed. She said, “He woke up this morning humming ‘Praise to the Man.’ He doesn’t know that hymn. He doesn’t know the words, but that’s what he was humming when he got up this morning.” And he ended up coming to general conference two months later, on his own choice, from California.
31:54
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: This kind of change is not unusual. This kind of growth and development during the week is pretty typical, and it’s very exciting to see. I was at a registration one Monday, and a mother came up to me and said, “Brother Wilcox, can you help me?” And I said, “Yes.” And she says, “I need you to help me get my son out of the car.” So I went over to the car, and this kid was just like, “I’m not going. I’m not going. I’m not going. Take me home. You can’t make me go,” all of those things.
I said, “Buddy,” I said, “come on.” I said, “We can do this.” I said, “Let’s just get over to the registration table. That’s as far as we have to go.” And then once we got him there, then I said, “Buddy, come on. We can just go see where your dorm room is. Let’s just go that far.” And I thought it was so interesting, because here we had to kind of pull him out of the car, and yet, when it came to the end of the week and Saturday morning, we had to pull him back into the car. It was the absolute reverse. Suddenly he didn’t want to leave.
And I know there are young people who have anxiety. I know that’s a very real issue. But we need to take steps to help them. And these are some of those easy, safe steps where they can have some good, positive experiences.
33:11
Mary Richards: I love that. I’ve always been a believer in that, in growing and stretching. You see these experiences with reluctant youth. I’m sure you also see experiences where youth barely wave goodbye to their mom. It happened to me. “See ya,” slams the door. They’re right to their registration table.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Oh, they’re so excited. They’ve been waiting for this all year long. And that’s very typical as well.
33:33
Mary Richards: Yeah. My one son, it was, “Where’s the food?” He heard his older brothers talk about the food, and he wanted to go right there.
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Well, especially in places where they’re kind of far-flung and not close to a tight-knit Church community, and to be able to be with others who are like-minded and have the same values, and you feel that. It’s like horse to the barn; they just want to get there, right?
33:58
Mary Richards: And you’ve seen that too, Sister Runia, in areas where they might be more spread apart, to join together with other youth is really powerful.
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Yes, absolutely. In Australia, we had the opportunity to visit an FSY and speak to a group. And you could tell that these were young people that just craved that energy and that light and being together.
34:19
Mary Richards: And Sister Spannaus in South America also.
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: Yes, in Argentina and also in Chile. And I know that last year, it was the first FSY conference in Pakistan, and I think there were like 300 youth attending.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Yeah, about 360. Steve Lund was with them.
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: And this year, they doubled that. There were more than 600. So, what an opportunity, great opportunity, in these countries where there are not a lot of youth to have these five days to be together and to see, “Oh, come on, all these people have the same values,” as Sister Runia was saying.
35:57
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: And talk about life-changing. Just last summer, they did the first FSY in Guam, a small island in the South Pacific, and they brought the young people from the other islands around it as well. So for many of these young people, it was the first time they’d ever been on a plane, it was the first time they’d ever seen electricity, and it’s the first time they’d ever slept in a bed. Now, these are young people who are having their worlds expanded, not just because they’re seeing other young people who share their same values, but because they’re seeing a larger world.
Even in North America, this is the first time that some young people have ever been on a college or university campus, and just being there expands their minds and helps them start realizing, “Maybe there’s a place for me in this kind of an environment in the future.” FSY just gives these young people a bigger picture of the gospel, a bigger picture of themselves, but also a bigger picture of their potential and their opportunities.
36:08
Brother Michael T. Nelson: In Eswatini, the southern end of Africa —
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: I’m going to pretend like I know where that is. Eswatini.
Brother Michael T. Nelson: It’s right next to South Africa and has been called Swaziland in the past. But they held the FSY conference previously, and they had such a high percent of friends of the Church participate. It was interesting; I wasn’t at the conference, but to hear them report what had happened and to watch them preparing for their conference that’s coming up in a few months, there were members, participants of the Church, who witnessed the view of those friends of the Church, who for the first time realized what the Church was really about.
And it sounded like the member participants had not realized all of the blessings of membership in the Church until they saw their friends who were so impressed in wanting it, and they had a large number of baptisms following the conference. But it was interesting to see the eyes opened of the members of what they have.
37:28
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: And we are seeing some wonderful little upticks, not just from COVID to now. Anything is up from COVID-19. Anything is up. But from 2018 and 2019 to now, we’re seeing more young people enrolled in seminary, more young people who are temple recommend holders, more young people receiving their patriarchal blessings, more young men who are being ordained on time.
We’re seeing these wonderful upticks, even in the number of missionaries. We have over 75,000 missionaries out right now, and that’s not because they’ve lowered the mission age. There was a large bubble that came when they lowered the mission age, but then we got past that bubble. Now we’re back up to the numbers that they had when they lowered the mission age, and there’s no reason for it except that these young people are just rising up, and they’re willing to stand against this tidal wave that is hitting them of worldliness, and they’re willing to do that.
And what is it that’s causing that? Well, there could be lots of reasons, but one thing that the Brethren are attributing this to is FSY. They’re seeing that this conference is making a difference, and that’s a measurable difference.
38:55
Mary Richards: This reminds me to ask, Brother Wilcox: How did it all start?
Sister Tamara W. Runia: Well, let me tell you this. I know you refer to him as Bradley R. Wilcox. We lovingly refer to him as Bradley “FSY” Wilcox behind his back, not in front of him, because he is such a great advocate for this program.
39:12
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Oh, and I’ve been a part of it for so many years. EFY, Especially for Youth, was a program that was started at Brigham Young University by a man named Ron Hills. And he was starting it because he was trying to do an Education Week especially for youth. And then “Education Week” words got dropped off, and it just started being “Especially for Youth.” And it started in ’76, and then I got involved in ’85, and I’ve been doing it every summer since.
But that program was very expensive, and it reached young people, but not the numbers that were needed. We were feeling really good if we were hitting 20,000-30,000 young people a summer. But now, my goodness, two years ago, there were 102,000 just in North America. And then in 2022 as it shifted away from a BYU program called EFY to a Church program called FSY that very first summer that we did it, in North America there were about 102,000 participants.
Then the next year, in 2023, there were about 120,000 — gosh, 122,000, I think — 122,000 that participated. And in 2024, there were about 130,000 that participated. And this year in 2025, they’re expecting between 130,000 and 150,000 participants just in North America alone, over 3,000 counselors who will be participating. It’s just remarkable to see how this is mushrooming and very exciting.
The only place in the country last year in 2024 where we saw registrations dip was in Utah. Everywhere else, all the registration numbers are just skyrocketing, but in Utah, it dipped. And so when we started doing a little research to say, “Why would it be going down in Utah?” it really boiled down to young people don’t know their passwords. They have to know their password to get into their Church account to register, and the kid wouldn’t remember his password. Well, first of all, parents need to understand that they can go in and change that password.
Mary Richards: I did for one of my sons.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Yeah, that’s not impossible, and it just breaks my heart that young people are missing FSY when they just can’t remember a password. And then the moms say, “Oh well, I guess we just won’t have him go this year.” No, get those passwords. There’s even a Global Service Center number — write this down, moms and dads — 801-240-4357. 801-240-4357. It will give you a list of options. Hit option No. 1, account and login support, and they will help you find out the password.
I just can’t stand the thought of young people missing this because they can’t remember a password and mom and dad don’t know where to go for help. Let’s make sure that we get those passwords uncovered so that we can see those registration numbers in Utah skyrocket, just like they are all over the world.
42:44
Mary Richards: And those numbers, each one of those numbers, is a youth. It’s that ministry one by one. It’s that individual experience. I love that.
We love to give our guests the last word on the Church News podcast, and our last question always is: What do you know now? And so I want to ask each of you: What do you know now about FSY conferences and looking unto Christ? And we’ll start with you, Brother Nelson, and then Brother Wilcox, Sister Spannaus and Sister Runia.
43:10
Brother Michael T. Nelson: Thank you, Mary. It’s a great opportunity. To see and be at an FSY conference, it just speaks to you. It tells you what it is. What I know now is that every single individual, whether a participant or a counselor, there is a Spirit to the conference. The Holy Ghost bears witness individually, speaks to individuals; but collectively, there is a spirit of global brotherhood and sisterhood. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. And the youth feel that when they are with those that have the same values, are striving to live the same conduct. And the best experience can be enhanced by preparation. So, practice a talent. Go prepare for the talent night with something already in mind.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Oh, and those kids, they just scream and yell for each other. Some kid is up there just sharing the most simple talent, and they get an applause as if they were some superstar. The kids are so supportive of each other.
44:29
Brother Michael T. Nelson: Or the worst rendition of any song, and there’s still just an outpouring of a standing ovation. And so, prepare ahead of time. So even preparing the first day when you arrive at the conference, look at the classes early and decide which classes might have an interest to you, and prepare for the final end.
President Lund spoke in general conference, and he shared about “Saturday girls” and what transformation takes place during a Young Women’s camp, and that his wife, Kalleen, was looking for the Saturday girls at the conclusion of the camp. Saturday young men and young women are transformed throughout the week. And so the more that the youth prepare for the conference, the more sure the outcome.
45:25
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: I think I’ve learned that faith matters. Arthur Brooks is a professor from Harvard, and he’s considered quite an expert on happiness. Why? Because he’s synthesized all the research that’s been done and kind of boiled it down to what’s at the core, what is right at the core of happiness. And among those things, he lists faith.
Now, we live in a secular world where everybody thinks, “Oh, faith is just so — no, no, you don’t want to choose faith. That will be a negative thing in your life.” And yet, his research shows that no, faith is a positive thing in the lives of young people, in the lives of everyone, and that as they make this choice to include faith in their life, it’s moving them in the right direction. And I see that over and over and over again at FSY. I see young people who are making that faith choice, even against all odds, and I see the happiness that it brings.
Now, before we started this recording, I was talking to the producer of this podcast; her name is KellieAnn. She was telling me about an experience she had as a teenager back in EFY. And now it’s FSY, but she was telling me about that experience, and now I’m going to put her on the spot, because what have I learned? I’ve learned that stories like KellieAnn’s are not unique. This is what happens. KellieAnn, sorry to do this to you.
47:11
KellieAnn Halvorsen: Thank you for this opportunity.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: You’re always on the other side of this microphone.
KellieAnn Halvorsen: I am. But I’m actually really excited to share this testimony at this time, because EFY, now FSY, really helped shape my testimony into my life. I was really lucky to go between the ages of 12 and 18, actually, to EFY, and I did a lot of chores and babysitting to afford that.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Yeah, back in those days, you had to pay for it.
KellieAnn Halvorsen: Exactly. And I initially went probably to socialize and to be able to be with my friend, who was my roommate, and everything. But it really turned from a socializing thing to a spiritual foundation in my life, and it really became my conversion point to Jesus Christ. I’ve always had faith in the Savior. I’ve always had faith in the Church. Even as a young child, that has grown from there. But sitting in those courses and listening to the devotionals and doing those silly dances and everything.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: They still do the same dance, KellieAnn.
48:05
KellieAnn Halvorsen: It’s amazing. It’s wonderful. But I really remember being a 12-year-old little girl sitting in kind of the final devotional and feeling the overwhelming love, not just from those around me, but from my Father in Heaven and the Holy Ghost. And it hit me that this is true. This love comes from God. It comes from Christ. There’s a reality in the Atonement. There’s reality in the Restoration of the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at this time. And this is what the Lord wants me to participate in.
And so it really became a moment of simple faith into true conversion. And it’s something I strive to continue in my life. That’s why I did continue to go every year, I did continue to babysit, up until the very last little sliver of time I could go as an 18-year-old. And now in my family ward, I am the secretary of my Young Women’s.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Oh, good.
KellieAnn Halvorsen: And I just want to encourage them and all those listening just to give it a chance and to go. And I just love that the theme this year is “Look unto Christ,” because FSY, EFY, the powerful words of the speakers and the scriptures and the music, it’s what got me to look unto Christ, and it’s what I continue to do in my life because of that experience.
49:21
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Thank you, KellieAnn. I’ll tell you there’s another young woman here. Her name is Gala. She’s here with her mom, who’s getting some pictures for social media. But I remember meeting Gala at an FSY that she attended when she was just a young teenager. So I’m going to put you on the spot too, Gala. Get up here to a microphone, and tell us a little bit about your experience.
49:44
Gala Martínez-Bonelli: Thank you. I’ll try not to get emotional. But I helped my parents for four years, maybe more.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Were they session directors?
Gala Martínez-Bonelli: Yeah, they were. And so I kind of got the behind-the-scenes of everything. And as a young woman, you’re scrolling through social media, and you’re like, “I need to be prettier. I need more clothes. I need more jewelry. I need to look better and be better.” And where we went, there was no service. And so just getting to have no service, and I just didn’t care about that stuff anymore. And all I cared about was Christ and His love for me and being with nature. I felt so much peace. The Spirit was so strong. I made my best friends. The counselors were my absolute best friends.
And so what I would say to the listeners is to leave your phone at home. And I really don’t think it’s necessary to bring your phone with you, because you need to leave social media behind and everything, and you’ll just feel the Spirit so strong, and I’m just so grateful for FSY. It completely changed my life. And I still talk to my counselors, I still talk to my friends there, and, yeah, I just loved it.
51:00
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: Now, that’s what we’re talking about. Mary, you said what have I learned? I’ve learned that faith matters. And the faith that she just expressed matters. I am different and better because I choose faith. KellieAnn is better now because as a teenager, she had an experience that helped her choose faith. That’s what I’ve learned.
51:25
Mary Richards: Thank you. Thank you so much. And Sister Spannaus, what do you know now?
Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: Well, I know that each one of the youth is important. So each one of us is important to our Father and to our Savior. He gives us so many opportunities to learn and to grow and to meet wonderful people and work together toward Him. Life itself, it’s a wonderful life, but with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it makes it more and more and more wonderful every time. And this joy does not come from a life free of challenges but from a life full of Christ, full of thoughts of Christ.
So, His invitation to look unto Him and do not doubt and do not fear is an invitation to trust Him, to live a life full of joy. So I’m learning how to put all my trust in Jesus Christ, and He knows that this is what I want to do, so He’s given me people and experiences from whom I can learn and practice that trust. So I think that the FSY also, for the youth, is the same experience. God is putting people and also experiences for them to learn to trust God.
I know that FSY is an excellent opportunity to know the character of God, to have personal spiritual experiences, to have a personal testimony of the truth and to have a better relationship with Jesus Christ and our God. And for that, I’m eternally grateful.
Mary Richards: Thank you.
53:10
Sister Tamara W. Runia: OK, and I’ll just wrap this up. I’m so grateful for this chance to share the feelings that we have, first about FSY, for an opportunity these young people have to step away from a social mirror that they look at every day and see a reflection of themselves that may not be accurate, to seeing themselves through a divine mirror, a godlike mirror that reflects back to them who they truly are. And they can experience that at an FSY conference. And so that’s my testimony regarding that.
And as far as this theme, I love it so much. I just can’t say enough about this idea that as we look unto Christ, our doubts and fears will dissipate. And it reminds me of the story in Mark 4 of the Savior getting into the boat with the disciples and heading out, and the storm raging. And while the Savior is asleep with His head on a pillow, the disciples, who are experienced fishermen, are concerned for their lives. It’s filling up with water. And they wake the Savior up. And as He calms the sea and the storms and the wind, He does ask them this question: “Why are ye so afraid? How is it ye have no faith?”
At the very beginning of this story, He says to them, “Let us pass over to the other side.” They’re in the boat with the Savior. He’s saying to them, “If you’re with me, if you look unto me, we’re going to make it to the other side together.” It’s one of my favorite names of the Savior, Emmanuel, a name that was prophesied before His birth, which literally means “God with us.” That is my testimony, that God is with us, and we’re with Him. And as we look to Him, we’ll be able to feel Him close by.
55:00
Jon Ryan Jensen: Thank you for listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen. I hope you learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had your faith in the Savior increase by looking through the Church News window as a living record of the Restoration. Please subscribe, rate and review this podcast so it can be accessible to more people. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests; to my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen; and to others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channels or with other news and updates about the Church on TheChurchNews.com or on the Church News app.
