Living Faith

Lessons of unity as young single adults gather ‘Together in Christ’ at conference

Stories of connection from the Gather Together Conference of the Utah Area YSA Conference

By Joel Randall Aug 20, 2023 7 p.m. EDT

An aerial view of a large crowd of young adults walking through a wide hallway.

Living Faith

Lessons of unity as young single adults gather ‘Together in Christ’ at conference

Stories of connection from the Gather Together Conference of the Utah Area YSA Conference

By Joel Randall Aug 20, 2023 7 p.m. EDT

After more than one year of planning, more than 20,000 young singe adults in and around Utah signed up for an unforgettable conference of faith building and connection making. Strangers found new friends with similar interests. Volunteers lined up to wear hairnets and package food for the Million Meals service project. Participants played Spikeball and Jenga with longtime buddies to make new memories.

One couldn’t go an hour without seeing two Latter-day Saints reconnect by complete chance after years of having gone their separate ways.

Isabelle Smith from Farmington, Utah, said she loved the conference overall. “I’ve loved how many people are able to come together with a same faith in Jesus Christ and how much fun that we can have.”

A group of young adults wearing blue hairnets and standing next to boxes of packaged food.

Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Left to right, Rachel Handy and Maddie Rosenauer pour rice into a bag as part of the Million Meals service project at the Gather Together Conference, part of the Utah Area YSA Conference, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023.

Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Abby Barrett from Syracuse, Utah, said, “It’s very cool that the [Utah Area] put together a conference for young adults specifically, because we are from such different walks of life. We’re either going through school, work. You might have a hard home life, you might have a great home life. So, the fact that we’re able to come together and that we’re reaching out to everyone is really awe-inspiring to me.”

Caroline Regis from Farmington, Utah, said that the diverse bunch of young single adults has one powerful commonality. “So many people are here from all sorts of different lives and backgrounds. ... Christ is what brought us here together.”

Young adult Latter-day Saints united as one in the Utah Area YSA Conference at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. Together in Christ, attendees joined to celebrate the unity they have as children of God through their admiration of the One who makes love and connection possible.

A group of young single adults listen to four people sitting in chairs on a stage.

Unity as God’s people

As part of the conference’s “Podcast Now” series, Elder Brian K. Taylor, a General Authority Seventy; and Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, joined Revival podcast for a live episode recording. The hosts, David Butler and Stephan Taeger, discussed with the leaders unity as God’s people and unity with Christ to overcome inadequacy.

As a painter, Sister Yee commonly uses a variety of brushes; some paint crisp edges, some feather out and soften the stroke, some have clean detail.

“Each one of them has a purpose and place,” said Sister Yee. “They make the painting beautiful. If I used the same brush for only one painting, you would notice — there’s a lack of variety, a lack of diversity in that.”

Just as diversity in painting creates beauty, “God created this beautiful earth as a template for us, and variety creates unity.”

Several young adults writing their names in colorful Sharpie on a white van inside a convention hall.

One meaningful diversity among Latter-day Saints is through spiritual gifts. “How recently have you specifically asked your Heavenly Father to bless you with the gifts of the Spirit?” asked Elder Taylor. As the Giver of gifts, Heavenly Father “is waiting to bless us” and will when Saints seek His help.

The duo also talked about how they overcame feelings of inadequacy when first being called as general Church leaders. Abby Barrett — a young single adult from Syracuse, Utah, who listened to the live podcast — said recognizing inadequacies opens the way for the Lord’s help.

“Even if you have inadequacies, that’s really a good thing because you’re going to be the one to ask the questions that need to be asked, instead of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing,” said Barrett. “And in the end, I will learn more because I’ll know what questions to ask.”

A large group of young adults listening to Elder Corbitt speaking.

Avoiding discrimination to come together as one

Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt, a General Authority Seventy, taught a class about the vitality of not discriminating based on race.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” said Elder Corbitt, “is destined to be an instrument in God’s hands to unify all God’s children in these latter days, and I see that happening.”

He reemphasized what Church President Russell M. Nelson said are the three most important identifiers:

Child of God.
Child of the covenant.
Disciple of Jesus Christ.

President Nelson posts about labels and true identity

Robyn Evans from Holladay, Utah, later said, “I really liked how he tied it all off with how his identity as being a child of God comes first and then it enhances his cultural identities.”

Elder Corbitt showed his young single adult audience several clips of Church leaders calling for people everywhere to avoid discrimination based on race. “The prophets and apostles are world leaders in uniting in peace and harmony God’s children,” he said.

Quoting Christ’s Intercessory Prayer, he shared that the Savior pleads that “all may be one, ... that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).

“As our Advocate with the Father,” said Elder Corbitt, “Jesus Christ requires advocacy of His principles of unity, equality and rooting out racism to be achieved in His way and by His loving Spirit.”

Therefore, he said, children of God — especially members of the Church — are invited to foster unity, harmony, peace and love among all.

“There is something about our unity, brothers and sisters, which will convince the world that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. The world is increasingly disbelieving in that, and so we have our work cut out for us.”

Elder Corbitt concluded, “We are destined to show the world how to come together as one in Christ. And we will do this.”

A table with a board game and young people sitting around it.