~by Michelle

A couple of months ago, I sat in a fireside (an LDS spiritual meeting) with our son, who is 12 years old. This meeting was to introduce the LDS youth theme for 2011.

Wow. I was reminded of one reason why I love being Mormon.

I went through the Young Women program myself from ages 12-18. For several years after I finished graduate school, the callings I had were almost always working with the young women. But I’ve not had an assignment working with the youth now for over a decade, and I really had forgotten what an amazing feeling it is to associate with the youth and to witness, up close, what the Church does for the young people.

Here’s one example of how much The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cares about the youth. There is a new, updated LDS Youth website, complete with videos, music, counsel from LDS leaders, mobile apps, a Q&A section, material talking about our LDS values and standards, and more.

This video (“Honest, true, chaste, benevolent: Virtuous Values“) captures some of what our faith means to youth. This video shows young women talking about this year’s theme, about the importance of having faith in God, about the blessings of Mormon temples and of staying true to baptismal covenants with God.

Another video shows how Junior, an LDS young man from Florida (USA) shared the gospel with others. “Inviting all to come unto Christ: Sharing the gospel”

See more videos at the new lds.org youth website, or at the YouTube Mormon Messages for Youth channel. One of my favorites is the video about the Kiev Temple Youth Celebration.