PROVO — Like the ugly duckling in the Hans Christian Andersen story, young adults should become aware of who they really are, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf told them during a Church Educational System fireside Sunday evening.
President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the speaker at the fireside originating in the Marriott Center on the Brigham Young University campus. Besides the several thousand college-aged young adults attending there, many more participated via the Internet and satellite broadcast in Church meetinghouses and other locations throughout the world.
After telling the story of the ugly duckling who ultimately realized he had grown into a beautiful swan, President Uchtdorf told his listeners, "Discovering who we really are is part of this great adventure called life."
To help them make the discovery, he gave answers to some of the questions members in their age group have asked him.
"I'm unhappy and depressed. Sometimes it seems like the world would be a better place if I weren't in it. Why should I go on living?"
President Uchtdorf acknowledged that severe depression and thoughts of suicide are serious matters and those who suffer those things, or know someone who is suffering, should see that help is sought from professionals and Church leaders.
But he reminded the young adults that God's purpose for them is that they should have joy in life.
He said, "It is my earnest prayer that the knowledge of who you are and what you may become will fill your souls with the peaceable love of God and that this will ignite within you a happiness worthy of your true heritage, for in truth you are princes and princesses, kings and queens."
"I'm so lonely. Will I ever find my soul mate?"
President Uchtdorf said, "I know this may be a disappointment for some of you, but I don't believe there is only one right person for you."
The important thing, he continued, is to avoid looking for perfection, but to find someone to marry and then join together in working together to build a strong marriage.
He told those despairing about ever finding an eternal companion to not give up.
To the men he said, "The secret to finding the girl of your dreams is to get to know many of them. Then, when you fall in love and it feels right, ask her to marry you. If she says no, you continue to search and to pray until finally you will arrive with that young woman at the altar of the temple."
To the women he said, "Now, sisters, be gentle. It's all right if you turn down requests for dates or proposals for marriage. But please do it gently."
Back to the men, he said, "Please start asking."
Can I remain faithful?
President Uchtdorf, once an airline pilot, told of how aviators, though possibly fascinated by the sight of billowing storm clouds flashing with lightning, avoid them and the danger they present to an airplane.
"Isn't the same principle true when you see things that could cause spiritual harm?" he asked. "Temptation wouldn't be temptation if it didn't appear attractive, fascinating or even fun. But, like the pilot approaching a storm, you need to learn to avoid it, no matter how beautiful or intriguing it may appear."
He specifically mentioned pornography as a dangerous temptation that should be avoided.
As he was concluding, he told the young adults that there are always voices that will insist that they are ugly ducklings who cannot be anything else.
"But you know better," he said. "Because of the revealed word of a merciful God, you have seen your true reflection in the water and you have felt the eternal glory of that divine spirit with you. You are no ordinary beings, my beloved friends all around the world. You are glorious and eternal."
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