At the Table The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Research suggests that it is not uncommon for YSA’s to feel a lack of purpose and belonging within the Church. In this episode, renowned author and psychologist Wendy Ulrich shares insight on how leaders can best minister to YSAs who may be struggling with a sense of purposeand belonging.
We are striving to improve this content, please consider taking the survey related to this episode here: https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_3Dza9x3tD4YBjzE
HIGHLIGHTS

1:30 Introduction to Wendy Ulrich. Wendy is a psychologist. She has served on the general relief society counsel. She is the author of many books, and has taught at BYU. She now teaches at the institute with her husband in Provo, UT. 

2:25 Is there apathy in the YSA wards? Apathy can come from not feeling engaged or that what you are doing has meaning.

6:10 For a lot of people apathy is more about fear. Fear of getting involved. 

8:50 Do you feel like you if someone asked you what your purpose and goals are, you answer them? A lot of times apathy comes from not knowing our purpose. 

12:20 Dating your dreams. We have to explore our dreams and it takes time. 

13:50 Where does your deep enthusiasm for the gospel come from? Grappling with the question of not what do I want now but what do I want most? 

22:20 Harvard research shows that relationships are the most consistently important things in people’s lives. Relationships help them find meaning, well-being, and purpose. Wendy speaks about how we find meaning and purpose. 

27:00 How can leaders help YSA members to find meaning and purpose? 

33:30 The parable of the talents. Doing something small is better than doing nothing. It's ok to take risks and fail rather than sitting around doing nothing. We have to get over our fears of doing hard things. 

35:30 Where do you start when you are trying to find your divine identity? We can ask ourselves what we’ve learned from the difficult things that we have gone through. Can you tell a redemptive story about your life? We decide what the meaning of the story is.

40:30 Christ has promised us a redemptive power through his atonement. We can change horrible events and hard stories into redemptive stories through Him. 

42:10 What is the relation between redemptive stories and grit? What meaning are you giving your experiences? 

46:00 Failing forward. It’s not about failure, it’s about redemption. Seeing your failure as a learning experience and getting up again. Leaders can help YSA members by asking more questions instead of trying to give all the answers. 

48:00 The story of the Brother of Jared. The Lord asks him what he wants to do about the problem of having light. Then the Lord steps in and helps him with the rest. The Lord and Christ don’t just give us answers. They ask questions and try to empower us. 

As stated in the November 2022 announcement, “Young single adults lead YSA efforts” and “YSA committee members work to help all young single adults participate in the work of salvation and exaltation.” In this episode, two YSAs serving on a YSA Institute Council share their experiences, feelings, and best practices.
We are striving to improve this content, please consider taking the survey related to this episode here: https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_cvkd2ulK8jG9Zyu

With the counsel to consider YSAs for stake and ward leadership callings, leaders are curious to know how this change has been received. In this episode, two YSAs who are serving in ward and stake leadership callings share their perspective on the changes.
We are striving to improve this content, please consider taking the survey related to this episode here: https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_aVuVz2g9nAE9fNQ
HIGHLIGHTS

1:30 Introduction to Tamsin and Alex. 

4:30 Alex has lived in many different places. He shares his experiences in his different YSA wards and the evolution that he has seen with the YSA. Tamsin also shares her experiences in different YSA wards and how her experience has changed in different stages of her life.

9:45 Tamsin shares her experience serving on the stake relief society advisory council. 

11:15 Alex feels blessed that he has had the opportunity to serve in many different callings in the YSA. He shares things that he has gained through mentorship. 

14:15 Tamsin has sometimes seen that there is a general attitude that YSA are not as capable or fully adults because they are not married. However, they are fully participating members of the church. 

16:05 Alex has felt that sometimes in a YSA ward that you are in a holding pattern. Waiting to get married or get that job. However, spiritually they need progression and mentorship in the gospel. YSA members have the need to feel like they are part of the church as a whole and not separated.

20:15 Helping other YSA members to feel capable and trusted. 

24:40 In YSA wards there aren’t as many callings, as in primary and nursery. Some callings are created but there isn’t much guidance or follow up after. It’s important to give callings that have meaning and help them feel part of the effort. 

27:00 How have you seen yourself change in different leadership positions? 

31:00 Around the world there are different YSAs but what they have in common is that they need to feel valued, loved, and a part of something. 

33:45 Working with older leaders as YSA members. 

YSAs often have questions and potential concerns regarding the church’s history. In this episode, two church historians discuss how YSA leaders can respond to questions about Church history and what resources are available.
After listening to this episode, please take the time to take this survey: https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_bqG61EEsAqjJ9n8
HIGHLIGHTS

1:50 Introduction to Clair and Matt, church historians.

2:45 Clair explains what they hope to accomplish by speaking on church history. They hope to be able to provide helpful tips, guidance, and resources. 

5:10 Leaders should seek to cultivate trust before they go to counsel someone. Trust is first and with trust comes influence.

11:20 Asking a question is a position of vulnerability for the questioner. Leaders should validate that vulnerability. Leaders should be a continual resource for people and not just give people a one-time quick answer. They should also be careful of making assumptions about the questions that people have. 

14:50 What questions can leaders anticipate about church history? Church history questions can get complicated. Set the expectation that it might not be a quick answer. Some questions are going to come with a lot of study and prayer. 

16:45 A lot of people have questions about translation and how revelation is received. There are also a lot of questions on the priesthood and temple ban and race restrictions. Not easy to answer.

18:10 The church has taken the time to create resources to answer difficult church history questions. Leaders don’t need to feel like they need a masters in history. You just need to be aware of the resources and where to point people. 

20:30 When it comes to church history, it’s easy to go down a rabbit hole until all the questions snowball. It’s easy to lose perspective. It’s like when you hold a small rock close up it looks like a boulder. Help people take a step back and see the bigger picture. 

22:45 How has learning about church history strengthened your faith? 

29:00 The church historians have been working on the Joseph Smith papers for 20 years now. Matt shares what he has been able to learn while working on this project. 

31:20 We are in the day and age where people are googling everything. Sometimes the things that we come across on the internet are only a tiny portion of a much bigger topic. We have to have the spirit and search out answers in the right places. 

35:00 Where are you getting your information? Is it reliable? Are there biases? Who can we trust when everyone is saying something different?  We have to be careful where we are learning about church history along with asking the spirit to help us. 

40:30 What about the church’s resources? The church historians are very careful with all the information put out. They provide sources on everything.  

43:40 When it comes to asking questions and for the leader that is answering, the most important thing is to foster an environment where the spirit can be present. Kindness, empathy, understanding, and humility are important on both sides.

47:20 Matt talks about why it’s so important to have humility as we approach questions on church history. People in church history had a much different experience than us that we might not understand. 

51:10 The Lord does his work with complicated, imperfect humans. We have to approach the people of the past with love and understanding. 

Mental health is a rising concern among YSAs. In this episode, licensed psychologist, Sheldon Martin, and a YSA who has struggled with mental health, Xochitl Bott, discuss how YSA leaders can help YSAs dealing with mental health challenges.
Please give us your feedback about this episode by filling out this short questionnaire: https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_7Q9IfqfY2fzvmcK
Summary:
1:45 Xochitle and Sheldon introduce themselves. 

3:40 Xochitle shares her story and difficulties with depression and attempted suicide. She had to spend a lot of time at the hospital and in therapy. Eventually she was diagnosed with severe OCD. 

13:30 Xochitle used social media to share her story of mental illness. She changed her pain into an opportunity to help lead others and guide others with their pain and mental illness. 

16:15 How common is mental illness among members of the YSA?

20:00 Sheldon shares his perspective on mental illness in the YSA. He shares ways to reduce the stigma around mental illness. 

21:15 If someone is in crisis and you don’t know what to do to help them. Remember the helpful acronym is ACT.
A - ask. Ask them if they are thinking of hurting themselves.C - care. Take what the person says very seriously. T - tell. Tell someone that is in a position to help. 
23:00 When we are trying to reduce stigma we have to be careful not to ask hurtful questions. Don’t associate mental illness with sin. 

25:30 We are recognizing mental health now more than before. It might be more difficult for the older generations to understand these issues. Challenges are different in different generations and older leaders need to remember this and not be critical. Leaders should help them focus on growth and not on shortcomings. 

28:40 We are all struggling with different challenges and we shouldn’t compare pain. Pain is pain. Challenges are challenges. 

32:30 We shouldn’t define people by their mental illness. Mental illness is not their identity. 

33:30 How to show empathy and connect with people more effectively. 

40:00 What to do when nothing seems to be helping our mental health. Seek help from heaven AND from professionals. We need both. 

42:20 What leaders can do when YSA members are coming to them for help. 

In this episode, a YSA stake presidency and a bishop discuss what they have seen work best with listening to and working with YSAs.
Please give us your feedback about this episode by filling out this short questionnaire:  https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_6R51KSPKmVd17VQ
HIGHLIGHTS

1:30 Introduction to the speakers.

1:50 Thoughts and impressions on a new document released by the church, Strengthening the YSA. 

5:00 The youth give their perspective on the church’s initiative to come out with new material for their growth and leadership skills. 

8:10 We need to increase the collaboration between the YSA leadership and the geographic wards and stakes. 

10:20 YSA should be included in stake and ward council. The key principle is for leaders to listen to YSA members and learn to collaborate with them and understand what they need. 

11:50 President Bigelow shares his experience from when he was a bishop over a YSA ward. He shares what they would do in ward council and how they planned together. 

14:30 Bishop Wesel shares his experience as a bishop over a family ward and how he has worked with the young single adults in his ward. 

16:00 President Po’ahu shares his thoughts on strengthening the young single adults, the power of counsel, and listening. 

18:15 Adapting to the new changes the church put in place for the single adults and giving them more responsibility. The shift in the paradigm. 

21:10 It’s very easy to overlook young single adults in the geographic wards. However, they are there and will be more willing to participate by leaders taking the time to listen to them and creating more space for them. 

23:45  Building trust and collaborating with members of the YSA. It’s not su vs them. Age, single or married or what type of ward you are in shouldn’t separate us. 

26:45 The way to empower and build capability in young single adults is to step back and support them. The members of the stake presidency are in more of an advisor role while the young single adults do the planning. 

29:30 Bishop Wesel has found that sometimes the roles are flipped where the young single adults have played in the advisory role and helped him out in his calling. They helped him see things from their point of view. 

33:15 The Lord’s pattern is to call who is ready. It’s not about age. This new initiative isn’t a new concept but God is trying to help us dial it in a little more.  

34:30 Lift where you stand. You might be ready for a calling or more opportunities to serve but aren’t being called or ideas not implemented. Show that you are a ‘profitable servant.’ Do what you can now. Make an appointment with your bishop and tell him how you feel and want to serve.

44:00 Inspired questions for young single adults. Stop asking young single adults, who are you dating and when are you getting married? Try to start a conversation in a more meaningful way. Avoid questions focused on differences.

52:25 Aspects that build trust. 

57:15 Leaders share their final thoughts and ways to share and begin to implement this new initiative to strengthen the young single adults.