Ten Reasons Why

Ten Reasons Why Many Young LDS Adults Are Lost

One of my responsibilities as a high councilor was working with the Young Single Adults (YSAs), who were not attending or whose records were not in a YSA ward. Many of these YSAs were referred to as ‘the lost single adults,’ meaning they were not active church members. But I will use the term ‘lost’ in a different sense, as in ‘lost’ like the description Lehi used to describe those who “did lose their way, and wandered off and were lost” (1 Nephi 8:23). These, like many YSAs, commenced in a path which led to the tree of life, but because there arose a “mist of darkness; yea, an exceedingly great darkness,” they lost their way. This also may apply to many of the church who are not YSAs even though they may be ‘active’ church members, for regardless of activity they may still be ‘lost’ in this sense.

I use the term 'way' as Nephi does in 2 Nephi 31 as having entered in by the gate "which is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost" (2 Nephi 31:17). So the 'way' as described by Nephi is the "strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life" (2 Nephi 31:18). Nephi explains that we get into this strait and narrow path "by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save" (2 Nephi 31:19). Once on the path we "must press forward feasting upon the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 31:20). 

Unfortunately many YSAs have lost their way, or more likely have never found their way. And even though they were baptized, they did not actually enter the gate to the strait and narrow path because they were not taught to “understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, when eight years old” (D&C 68:23). They may have been taught about these doctrines, but not taught to understand them by those who were given charge to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the word of God. 

Or if they were taught to ‘understand’ they did not continue to feast upon the words of Christ or did not hearken unto the voice of the Lord, but instead they have gone according to their own carnal wills and desires and persisted in their own carnal nature. As such they refuse to repent and therefore it is as though there was no redemption made. He extended the arms of mercy towards them, but they would not. (Mosiah 16:1;5 & 12). Fortunately for all of us as long as we are in this probationary state we can repent. It is always the failure to repent that is the basis upon which we are judged.

So they 'commenced' by being baptized but because they were not taught to 'understand' they were in darkness to begin with. The Lord defines darkness as anything which is not the light that comes from God. If we are not introduced to His light, or if we are introduced and then turn away from that light, or are not continually immersed in that light, we will become lost because of the darkness that does prevail in this world. God describes this light as His word, which He also defines as truth and Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (D&C 84:45). The only remedy to the darkness is the word of God, which is why we are admonished to 'feast' upon His words. We either live by this light, by every word that comes from the mouth of God, or we do not.There is darkness all around us and within us, and the only way to navigate the darkness is to see the light shining in the darkness and follow it.

I have always been interested in why, and in this case have listed 10 reasons why I believe young single adults, and many other older church members, who may have commenced in the path, eventually lose their way or who may have never found their way, and even those who mistakenly believe they are in the way.  

Each reason for being 'lost' is accompanied by a short explanation of the truth (word of God) associated with each reason. I use the term 'understanding' the way the Lord used it when He explained to his disciples why He taught in parables, "because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matthew 13:13). He explains why they don't hear or understand, "for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed" (Matthew 13:15), and they do not understand with their hearts (Mosiah 11:29). Being 'lost' is not the result of all these reasons.  In fact it can be only one of them or perhaps another I did not think of, but since they are all connected failure in one results in failure in the others. But they do all have the same thing in common--they are not understood, believed and experienced.

On another occasion the Lord cautioned us that "the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin" (D&C 84:49). This darkness, He explains, is the result of "not being acquainted with (His) voice" (D&C 84:52). The problem of not understanding is compounded by the fact that many of those charged with teaching YSAs did not themselves understand and therefore contributed to the lack of understanding among the lost YSAs. But with becoming an adult, these YSAs cannot afford to pass the responsibility to those charged with teaching them. Having been introduced to His words (the Parable of the Sower), it is up to them to search them and feast upon them and see and hear and understand. 

Note that each of the reasons listed is based on a lack of understanding of the revealed word of God, either because of not being taught properly, failing to desire, search, and plant the word of God in their hearts because in their hearts they desire the things of the world, or knowing and rejecting the word of God. All of this is explained in the Parable of the Sower.

1. They do not understand the fall of Adam, nor have they experienced their own lost and fallen state. In other words they do not know where they are. In order for GPS or a map to be of any benefit it (or you) must know where you are. There is a proper order for teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it begins with Adam. “Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God” (Moses 6:48-49). This is the condition of all of us, and how we respond to this condition determines our eternal destiny. It makes no difference whether we believe this or do not believe it--the truth is that all of us are lost and fallen--all you have to do is see that we all die, we all partake of misery, we are all flawed human beings, and we are not in the presence of God. Like others before them many lost YSAs will simply dismiss this as being part of a religion, but their dismissal does not change the fact that it is true and that their lack of response is a response based on either not understanding or refusing to hear and understand.

2. They do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words they do not know how to read the map, and hence they wander off and are lost. Alma recognized that his son Corianton's behavior was the result of Corianton not understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Alma's response to his son's behavior was to teach him the word of God, which, by the way, is the map! Many do not know that Christ defines His Gospel in 3 Nephi 27:13-21. While Moses 6:48-49 describes our condition on this earth, Jesus gives us His preferred response to our condition. Both put everyone who has lived and will live on this earth, in the play. We are the actors in the play, but many do not know the plot, the beginning or the end. But Christ tells us that He came to this earth (good news) because His Father sent him. He tells us 'why' His Father sent Him--to be lifted up on the cross so that all men and women would be lifted up by the Father to stand before Christ and His Father to be judged of their works. This tells us that all of us must stand in the presence of God "to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him" (2 Nephi 2:10). This is the good news but only if we repent. 

He tells us that we can avoid the judgment of God of our works if we repent, are baptized, are filled with the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end, and instead of the justice of God, we can be found 'guiltless' because of His goodness and righteousness. Otherwise we suffer the justice of God and are hewn down and cast into the fire. The YSAs that are lost may know nothing of the real Gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead they may see the church as just another religion and make life decisions based on what they 'think' is best for themselves rather than what God 'knows' is best for them, thereby subjecting themselves to the justice of God. 

3. They do not understand their need for an atonement. In other words, not only do they not know where they are, they do not know where they are going, and even if they have an idea, they do not know how to get there. Knowing something about the atonement and experiencing our personal need for the atonement are not the same. I would guess that most YSAs, like many of their parents and teachers, may not have experienced their own lost and fallen condition, and therefore do not see the need for their own redemption. Until we see and experience that we are sinners, that we are evil, that our goodness is flawed, that our works and deeds will never be enough, that our capacity to sin needs to be changed, we can deceive ourselves and be led 'carefully down to hell.' Redemption is a personal experience, not a doctrine to be read from the pulpit, and we are redeemed because of the righteousness of our Savior. It is OK to think that we are lost as long as we also experience our own need for Christ's redemption, in fact without the former, we will never desire the latter. For this reason I believe that many YSAs who have made different choices may not see a way out for themselves, and therefore become locked into a worldview that captures them and keeps them out of the way, on paths that lead them further away from the truth.

4. They do not believe that they have only two choices and that they are enticed by the one or the other. In other words they do not understand that God has engineered His plan so that we only have two choices--Good or the righteousness of God, or Evil, which is everything else. One direction is narrow and the other one is broad with many paths all leading one to be lost, wandering in strange roads. While we have many choices on how to live our lives, all these choices are but a reflection of whether we are choosing Good or Evil. Young people believe that when they become adults they are 'free' to make their own choices. While this may be true, what they fail to comprehend is that as adults their choices remain the same. They can either turn to Good or God or they can turn away from God and turn to evil. Belief in the doctrine of the two ways is lacking in those who have lost their way.  Having chosen to turn away from God they are now in the midst of darkness, and Satan who entices them away from God deceives them with images, illusions and false ideas to keep them out of the way. They are led away without even realizing it and are taken captive and led carefully down to hell.

5. They do not understand either the Justice or the Mercy of God. In other words they do not understand the consequences of their choices. What bothered Corianton was that he could not understand how a loving God could punish us. In Alma's explanation to Corianton he taught that the Justice of God comes about because of the fall of Adam. By Adam's fall comes death, misery and woe, and flawed humans being cut off from God's presence. Why? Because God said so and being God He could not go back on His word. Having put His Justice in place, there then came a need for Mercy. The Mercy of God became available to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Justice and Mercy are on opposite sides of the equation.  We choose one or the other.  It is not justice and mercy, but justice or mercy. Having put these conditions upon us, God sent messengers to teach us that we can avoid His justice and be found guiltless (mercy) by keeping His commandments to repent, be baptized, be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end (3 Nephi 27:20). Justice claims all that are hers, and Mercy claims all that are hers. Christ stands between us and mercy and none but the truly penitent shall receive mercy (Alma 42:24). "Thou hast turned away thy judgments because of thy Son" (Alma 33:13).  All of us sin and will continue to sin, but if we repent (using only His definition of repentance--see Reason 7) we can be found spotless when we are brought to stand before God to be judged. But if we fail to repent, then it is for us the justice of God and we will be judged of our works, regardless of whether they are good or bad. "And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption" (Alma 34:16 emphasis added).

6. They believe that because consequences are not immediate, there are no consequences.  Many young people buy into the mantra to "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us" (2 Nephi 28:7). Part of the reason for buying in is that there are usually no immediate consequences to their actions. But this will not always be so because each choice is laying the groundwork for the consequences. Satan's tools include pacifying and lulling into a sense of carnal security, flattering and telling us there is no hell, and leading us carefully down to hell. Because we only have two choices--good or evil--every day, every minute and every second we are revealing to God what we want by virtue of the choices we make, and He will use our choices as the basis of His judgment.

7. They do not understand the doctrine of baptism or repentance. In other words they do not know the gate by which they enter into the strait and narrow way. Because so many YSAs have been taught about repentance by people who themselves do not understand the Lord's meaning of repentance, they may associate repentance as something negative, i.e., I am a bad person and need to repent. Yet repentance is one of the greatest of all the gifts of God, given to us as the means for us to take advantage of the mercy of God, and as the way out of our being shut off from the presence of God. To many YSAs the way back may seem too difficult and too demeaning, and yet having been baptized unto repentance, the Lord has told them to turn to Him, put their faith in Him, and rely wholly upon His merits.  

He has told us that we are saved because of His righteousness, not our own.  All we need to do is repent which means to turn to him, recognize that our hearts are broken and pray for new ones so that He can begin to change our disposition to do evil and cure our tendency to turn away from Him. We then begin to see the fruits of our repentance.  Our sins should trouble us, but with a trouble that will bring us down unto repentance. We should not endeavor to excuse ourselves in the least point because of our sins, by denying the justice of God, but we should let the justice of God and His mercy, and His long-suffering have full sway in our hearts; and let it bring us down to the dust in humility (Alma 42:30).

What better news than this:  "And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins...which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son" (Alma 24:10 emphasis added).

8. They do not come unto Christ because they do not believe Him or His words. Or in other words they do not understand or believe that Christ has spoken the words of his Father. While giving lip service to a belief in Christ, many lost YSAs do not really believe Him or His words. We begin with the premise that God has spoken, that His words have been recorded and that we can know for ourselves that they are His words. This admonition by Nephi applies to all of us: "all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good. And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye--for Christ will show you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things" (2 Nephi 33:10-11).

Evidence of this is that once YSAs leave the church many abandon their worship of God and/or Christ altogether. A quote from Tamu Smith, one of the Sistas in Zion makes this observation about those who leave the Church: "What I've noticed from brothers and sisters of our faith who have left is they don't replace their Sunday worship with anything.... They become unbelievers." I would say that perhaps they were never believers in the first place.

9. They are deceived by the images of the world and the vain imaginations of their hearts. Christ has contrasted His words with what he describes as the 'mainspring of all corruption' which is the creeds of the fathers that have been strongly riveted upon the hearts of the children and have filled the world with confusion.  He describes this mainspring of corruption as growing stronger and stronger and that the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity (D&C 123:7). Satan does have power in this world, which is by design so that we are enticed by the one (Christ) or the other (Satan). There is no middle ground--no ground for people to deceive themselves into thinking that they are good, even though some of their deeds are not, and that at the judgment God will take care of those bad things we did because He loves us and will usher us into His presence. Satan is a master magician and with the use of images and illusion, will deceive us or, better yet, cause us to deceive ourselves.

10. They do not put their trust in God. I am always amazed at the influence of others in the lives of the lost YSAs, or more amazed that these young adults can be so trusting of their peers. Our Father in Heaven has asked us to put our trust in Him. He does this to protect us. He does not want us to put trust in humans, any humans. This is usually the cause of finding fault with church leaders and parents and finding excuses to transfer our trust to our friends. God knows that it is our tendency to rely on those around us more than we do on Him, and after He warns us not to, we may find ourselves disappointed and even worse, critical. This disappointment and criticism then leads to finding fault and blaming the church. This is just other evidence that these lost YSAs do not understand the Gospel and mistake the organization as the Gospel. In this they usually have company--those around them--who reinforce their mistaken ideas. How many quotes from others have been posted on social media sites as some great truth, while at the same time they ignore or discount what He has revealed.  One word from Him strikes everything else into insignificance. And yet they are blinded by the craftiness of men and do not hear and do not see, and therefore do not understand.

Taken together these teachings are there to be either received or rejected, and our response to them determines whether we start our ascension to God or continue our descent further into Babylon, to be destroyed when Babylon and everything in it is destroyed.

There is only one remedy for helping this 'lost' generation to find their way, and that is for those closest to them to first do what they will ask of these lost YSAs--feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will tell you all things that ye must do. And once armed with these words, they like Alma must preach unto them the word of God with all diligence, and teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ the way it should have been taught to them in the first place! We can't rely on the programs of the Church to do this. It can only be done one-on-one by those who become like Alma and are willing to labor without ceasing that they might bring souls unto repentance so that these lost YSAs do know of the things of which you speak, as you should know; and the knowledge which you should have is of God. Go get that knowledge and then begin your labor!

And for any YSAs who may read this, remember that you are at risk because most of you have been introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His commandment to repent or turn to Him while turning away from the darkness within and around you. You cannot rely on your failure to understand to excuse you from the command to repent. You have actually been baptized and entered at least partially into the strait and narrow way. I urge you to turn to the light and begin to feast upon the words of Christ, for these words will tell you all things you must do.