Sydney Latter-day Saint, Colin Fragar, had a recent opportunity to sit down with Elder Quentin L. Cook, who was on a tour of countries in the Pacific region. Colin asked the apostle questions that are on the mind of many people today, including, “What would you say to parents who are trying to raise their children?”...and, “How does a young person today prepare for the future?”
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Elder Cook expressed the hope that parents would be “loving and kind” and remember that the “mistakes teens invariably make need to be corrected, but they are different from sins that need to be repented of.”
He urged parents to have religious observances in the home, saying that if family prayer, family scripture study and family home evening are “done with faithfulness over a long period of time, there will become embedded in children’s hearts an understanding of gospel principles.”
When asked about young people today, Elder Cook expressed concern that so much of the media is done in “the lowest possible taste in terms of morals and language.” He said that if youth will “spend their time with peers and activities that lift and build, they will become what they need to be.”
“If their generation is going to be the greatest generation, they are going to have to learn to use their time wisely.”
Responding to Colin’s question about young people preparing for the future, Elder Cook said, “I am very optimistic about the future and about our young people. This is not a time to be full of doubt about the condition of the world. I would ask them to be prayerful and optimistic...to look forward to missions, and marriage, and family, and have a sense of excitement.”
Asked what he would like to say to the people of Australia, Elder Cook expressed his love for the nation and said he wanted her citizens to know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “restored New Testament Christianity.”
“Those things that are contained in the New Testament are at the heart of our belief system,” he said.
“The almost exclusive message of the risen Saviour,” Elder Cook continued, “was to proclaim His gospel. That’s why the missionaries come out. They do not intend to invade your privacy, but they come out to proclaim His gospel.”