Herald of the Second Invitation, Vol 14, May 2022

There is no way to describe the gratitude of this moment, that of coordinating the Youth Ministry in this work which is the Lord's Second Invitation to Latter-day Saints. Being with youth is undoubtedly a great privilege.

While I was part of one of the branches of the restoration, my callings have always been with the youth, which brought me the experience and perception of for whom my first message at the head of the Ministry of Youth should be directed, so first I go to the parents, because my work begins with you, because you are undoubtedly the determining factor in the trajectory of your children's happiness.

They say that when a tsunami hits the mainland, there are always people who were there, on the beach, watching and admiring the sea before everything happened. These people don't realize what's coming. They contemplate the view that proves beautiful and apparently normal. If in the wind there is a different hiss, if the waves are in an unusual movement; none of this is perceived, or if at a time lapse these people realize, they immediately ignore and only convince themselves that it is common to nature, such behaviors. But when they truly realize that everything was nothing but signs of something bad that was about to happen, it's too late. Nothing else can be done, and the wave hits them.

I know that you parents are under great pressure on how to raise good children, and this is undoubtedly a big task. I know you want your kids to get the best grades, choose the most amazing of the professions to succeed, because being successful after all is essential. That's what they say. You parents want your children to be studious, educated, do extra activities to develop some other skills, learn another language, behave in school, and be the best in your class. Let them not bring them trouble, never ever.

These are important rules, I agree, because you parents are fulfilling your role in wanting the best for your children.

But what I have to say today to you, Dad, and Mom is:

BREAK THE CYCLE.......... and look beyond the rules.

Think about the answer to these questions:

What's your son's personality?

Personality is much more than clothes, accessories, music and slang. Personality is character, attitude, thoughts; how your children see the world; what their relationship is with life.

Do your children have a good relationship with their own image? For we have seen many young people with image distortion problems, causing them to be ashamed of their own body, weight, appearance or condition.

When was the last time your children told you what their anguish, fears, and anxieties were?

Can you tell if your child is bullied?

Or if your child has practiced bullying a colleague?

Are your children experiencing some emotional, psychological, or spiritual difficulty right now?

Can you tell what battles your children have in your heart?

Amid so many rules that your children have to follow, are they getting the most important, respect and support to be themselves?

More important than taking care of the children's school bulletins is to take care of the human being they are. With its flaws and successes, defects and qualities. They are young spirits who need to be cared for to be strong adults.

If your children have been very quiet, always seeking to isolate themselves from the world it is necessary to give due attention. And I want to emphasize here, that not every behavior like this is a teen thing.

Parents, do you know if there are tough battles taking place in the hearts of your children?

To the parents who have been able to answer these questions with sincerity, my congratulations, for I know that this teenager receives the love from his family in his home, and receives most importantly, the emotional support that will determine his ability to face the pressure of the world.

I know that the biggest challenge for teenage parents is to be able to create a link with them. But there is a way of this happening and that makes it possible according to Colossians 3:14 which says:

"And on all this, dress yourselves with love, which is the bond of perfection."

BREAK THE CYCLE.  Do not allow the enemy to cool the hearts of parents and children. Your children face unique challenges in this generation.  Understand that the best thing for them, is above all to feel that they are truly loved by you. Of course then as parents you love your children, but I'm talking about the love that Christ taught us that we should practice, the unconditional love.

Do you have this unconditional love for your children?

The true love of a father and mother does not impose conditions on their children so that they may be loved and welcomed, unconditional love will love this child in any way.

Therefore............. BREAK THE CYCLE.

BREAK THE CYCLE and do not imprison the personality of your children, allow them to be themselves, because although created by you, they possess their own essence, their own dreams, goals, longings and characteristics. Your children are writing their own stories, and the family's most important role is to provide the support needed to make this story about their great ability to face the world.

BREAK THE CYCLE and allow your children to choose their professions with their hearts. Maybe they don't pursue traditional careers like doctors, engineers or lawyers. Perhaps your children wish to be musicians, decorators, painters or even astronomers. It may be that they choose a profession with little social prestige or financial return and it's okay, having money is not the most important thing to achieve in this life according to the scriptures. The important thing is that they find their own gift, that given by God for a wise purpose.

It is the world that makes us think that accumulating wealth will make us important people, and by believing in it many waste their lives, gifts, and talents, straying from God's purposes in search of material goods, and becoming slaves to the son of perdition. When the truth is that, for God money doesn't matter, but what we are and what we do is what really matters.

Parents, the world will discourage their children from fighting for their dreams and the purposes God has for them through insecurity, fear, and doubt. Be the help of your children in times of tribulation. When they make mistakes, use the same mercy and love that God gives you when you also make mistakes. We're not foolproof, so few teenagers would be.

BREAK THE CYCLE of lack of attention to the psychological health of your children. Not only do we get physically sick, the mind has its pains and conflicts. And these issues can be fatal. Perhaps in that room that your child spends a lot of time in isolation, and that many parents do not understand why, or imagine that it is a common behavior of adolescence, I say that, perhaps this adolescent is going through problems that need professional help, and if nothing is done, this situation can make him give up living.

There are many pressures that a teenager can suffer, especially at this stage of discovering who one is, and the "standard of beauty" is one of them. This aesthetic pattern has mainly required the girls, that they possess an ideal weight, an ideal body, a specific appearance that fits this aesthetic standard stipulated by society. And this has made girls feel increasingly pressured to be within these standards and question their self-love. This is an important point to note, as such pressure has led many young women to become ill both physically and mentally. So don't make any nasty comments about the appearance of your children. And girls, if you love yourself as you are, because you're beautiful like that, there's no greater beauty than being who you are. Being authentic is a gift. Respect your bodies, love what you are and how you are, accept your imperfections, there is nothing wrong with you.

For the family of adolescents, BREAK THE CYCLE for your young people, by stopping destructive behaviors. We are fruits of the environment to which we are created, and unconsciously absorb harmful behaviors and consequently replicate, creating a cycle of pain and suffering. Take care of the excess of offensive criticism, comments that diminish your child's self-esteem. Do not discourage them when they propose to do something new, such as playing some musical instrument, public speaking or a new language. Cease endless criticism as if they did nothing right. It hurts, damages, and opens a wound for life.

Be the greatest supporters of your children's dreams.

BREAK the CYCLE of prejudice when your children identify their own sexual orientation or gender identity.

Just remember:

Love has no gender and does not impose a condition for us to love our neighbor.

If this happens, they will need you more than ever, because the world, with its prejudices, will be hostile to them, perhaps even take their lives because of homophobia. And if these young people do not get support in their homes, the love of their families, the necessary welcome and understanding, perhaps they themselves decide to do so, in not living anymore.

Love your neighbor in the same way that Christ loved us all, to the point where you gave your life in the name of this love. He sacrificed himself not for some, but for all people, without distinction.

We have seen the alarming number of young people taking their own lives for not being accepted as they are for those who should love and protect them. Prejudice kills, but family prejudice, this one, kills much more.

BREAK THE CYCLE that has made parents cool their love for their children. Love your children however they may be, and be alert about their mental and emotional health. For if something is wrong, you are the key for them to overcome and overcome the evil of depression that has been dragging our young people, making them give up living.

Just as the tsunami is approaching and no one on the beach notices, so are the sufferings of dozens of young people that we have lost in the battle against depression. Often the origin of this evil that has been affecting young people from all over the world, occurs in the family environment, by prejudice, rejection, by the lack of dialogue and endless demands of an ideal of a child that you may be projecting that they should be, and verbalize it painfully, making you feel constantly frustrated, which often results in anxiety attacks, panic syndrome, bulimia, anorexia, deep depression among other pathologies. This is a hard burden for a teenager to carry, that of not being accepted for what one is.

There are battles being fought in the rooms of thousands of young people around the world, where daily they struggle to continue living, often giving signs, similar to the tsunami, but which no one notices, or can not imagine.

Don't ignore the signs.

There is no way to say that we love Christ, we follow Christ, if we do not practice the love that Christ taught, unconditional love.  The love that  rejects, doesn't make sense to anyone, let alone a child.

BREAK THE CYCLE OF ALL Babylonian precepts that may be nesting in your hearts, for perhaps your children will be on that beach as the tsunami approaches, but you can save them before it's too late.

Young people, Now I address you.

If in your homes you do not have the necessary support, do not be sad, parents are also imperfect beings who make mistakes and need to learn, like any of us here.  Keep fighting, believe in your own ability, if you accept, there's nothing wrong with you. And when you feel tired, no longer strong enough to continue, look up, there is a force that you have not yet explored and that is so strong and powerful, that it can transform and heal your pain.

God believes in each of you!

God knows that you are able to break this cycle of exclusion, pain, and affliction that exists in this world. That is why God has placed within each of his children a power capable of changing reality.

This power that each of you possess is called faith, and if you have faith, and join God in all things and moments, there is nothing you are not able to overcome.

Young people, imagine life as a game, a metaverse, a matrix. This game consists of opening and closing doors. There are the doors of difficulties, obstacles, achievements, and many others. Good and bad doors. You can close or open these doors whenever you want, depending on the situation, but to open or close them, you will need the keys.

And where do you get them? The scriptures explain.

The scriptures are God's guidelines for his children on earth, such as a map, a manual. Anything you want to know about what you should do is there in the scriptures. All the answers to overcome the challenges of life are found in the scriptures. And I can prove it.

In the Sealed Book of Moses 4:24 contains the knowledge necessary to overcome the world:

“...And if you have only hope that your feelings are not shaken, then you will have faith and if you have that faith, then you have in you the keys (of this game I just mentioned) to open or close all situations."

In this game, the best player will be the one who seeks in the scriptures the answers to all situations, having faith that God will always lead to the necessary answers.

You are a powerful generation, beyond any other that ever existed. The mysteries that God is now revealing through the Sealed Book, that was extracted from the plates of Mormon, are easily decipherable by you, this is the promise, which the next generation would understand about the power of good feelings, and more than understand, that you will be able to apply this knowledge.

Young people, you can BREAK the CYCLE of all that is bad in the world. Start with yourself the change the world needs. Show the world that a person's exterior is not the most important, just as it is not for God. And what really matters is our good essence, what we carry within us.

Young people, BREAK the CYCLE of pain and judgment.

BREAK THE CYCLE of prejudices, exclusion, non-acceptance for what one is.

BREAK the CYCLE of homophobia.

BREAK THE CYCLE OF gender identity prejudice.

BREAK THE CYCLE OF machoism.

BREAK THE CYCLE OF silence and talk more about depressions, anxieties and any other situation that could put any of you or your friends at risk. Call for help!

BREAK the harmful CYCLE of behaviors and words that can hurt someone's feelings or self-esteem, change the way you treat others.

BREAK THE CYCLE of bullying, of the mocking that hurts.

Be better than all past generations have been.

Each of us is able to transform this world into a place where there are no more judgments, but love and respect.

And that's only possible if you dare BREAK THE CYCLE.