LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
Mike Hammari gathered the notes for his talk and entered the chapel of the Santa Monica stake center filled with hundreds of young single adults."Organizing this conference has taken countless hours of work and prayer, but if we've helped just one person, it's all been worth it," he said.
Brother Hammari is the executive director of the statewide YSA planning committee that has spent the summer orchestrating a three-day conference that was held on August 10-12 and gathered more than 10,000 young single adults ages 18-35.
The event, which took place at ten different locations across the state, included a variety of service-related activities, socializing events and a range of self-improvement workshops.
"As a group of young professionals and students, it was important for us to create an environment of learning where young single adults could grow spiritually while also having a great time," said Kimberly Webster, the program and logistics chair of the conference.
From San Diego to Sacramento, young single adults kicked off the weekend with a slew of activities on Friday evening, Aug. 10, including a 1980s-inspired dance, carnival activities and improvisation shows. Saturday morning, Sheri Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book, addressed conference attendees through a special, previously recorded message on the importance of recognizing the influence of the Spirit in directing earthly missions. Young single adults then participated in a series of workshops and compiled a thousand humanitarian aid kits for local families in need. The day culminated with themed dinners ranging from Mexican fiestas to Hawaiian luaus, complete with live entertainment from each culture.
"This weekend has been amazing," said Ryan Duncan, conference attendee from Northridge, Calif. "It's been great meeting new friends and learning everything from managing finances to the importance of planning for the future. It has helped me shape my view of the influence of our generation in the Church."
Concluding the conference, young single adults arrived early Sunday morning to be enriched with a special sacrament meeting, and previously recorded devotional address by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve who encouraged attendees to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33)."
"This conference brought my life into focus," said Casey McDonald, an attendee from Los Angeles. "The things Elder Ballard and Sister Dew spoke about reminded me that God is not only aware of me but also that I have purpose going forward."
The conference's success was not without much preparation, which began early in 2012 under the direction of Elder Allen D. Haynie, an Area Seventy. While many YSA conferences aim to gather and re-activate young single adults, Elder Haynie saw this also as an opportunity to develop leadership within the rising generation. Under his guidance a team of nearly 50 young single adults across California planned and oversaw the preparation of the conference.
"The capacity for good and the talent that exists among young single adults has quite frankly surprised me," said Elder Haynie. "They're not just a group that needs to be served; they have tremendous strength to add to everything a ward or stake does."
Adding strength through service was the mission of the conference, the theme of which was "Lift Where You Stand" based on an address by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, during the 2008 general conference.
"'Lift Where You Stand' is about doing the little things that we may not think will have a big impact," said Melissa Morales, co-chair of the service and humanitarian efforts."Because so many people gave just 10 percent more, we were able to achieve incredible things this summer."
In the months leading up to the conference, young single adults were challenged to fulfill the theme by accomplishing goals centered on the four-fold mission of the Church: proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, redeem the dead and care for the poor and needy. Together, young single adults visited more than 5,000 members who are less active, indexed nearly 650,000 names, planned special fellowshipping activities and cleaned up dozens of communities as part of statewide service activities.
"We really have an energy that no other group in the Church has," said Leanne Burnett, assistant executive director of the conference. "When we come together, we can accomplish anything."
Larry Eastland, bishop of the Santa Monica YSA Ward and director of the YSA conference steering committee, believes young single adults are a group of influential individuals that should be taken seriously within the Church.
"It's important to remember that young single adults are adults — not kids, not youth," said Bishop Eastland. "They've demonstrated through this conference that they're not just the leaders of tomorrow; they're the leaders of today."
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