Rising Generation: Sports Analogies
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For nearly six thousand years
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
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Furthermore, whether you realize it or not, you are a generation drenched in destiny. If you are faithful, you may be a part of some of the winding up scenes for this world, and as participants, not mere spectators, though on later occasions you might prefer to be the latter.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
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You're here now because God chose you to be here now, and that says something crucial and important about you. We are living in this final and last dispensation, the only dispensation that will not end in apostasy. Our Father reserved you for now because He knew you would have the courage and strength to withstand the adversary's coming opposition to God's plan for you. Heavenly Father knew you would recognize truth, and He knew you would be willing to help carry the message of Jesus Christ and His gospel to others around the world. Using a baseball analogy, we are in the last half of the ninth inning. Our Heavenly Father and His Son chose you to be on their team when the game's on the line. This means they know you. They trust you and they'll help you fulfill your personal mission on this earth. So, during this conference do what young Joseph Smith did when he had a question. Prayerfully ask God if what I tell you is true. Ask Him if you really are one of His elect and noble spirits. Ask Him if you have a special part to play in the gathering of Israel. That is His agenda for this final inning. If you ask sincerely, with great humility I promise you the Lord will let you know through the whisperings of His Spirit. The answers may not come quickly but they will come. And when you know who you really are, you'll have the courage to enlist in the Lord's battalion to help gather Israel for the rest of your life. Russell M. Nelson [For Strength of Youth, 2022]. 260825
President Russell M. Nelson
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in the Relief Society General Presidency I want to share something with you that I believe, not because of any hard evidence I have, but because I choose to believe what prophets have said and because of the deep witness of the Spirit I have each time I am with members of the church your age. I'll use an analogy. Think about a championship sports competition such as the final game of World Cup or the Super Bowl or maybe just think about any rivalry game between BYU and the University of Utah which always feels like a championship game. In the last minutes of that game if the score is very close, which of his players will a coach put in to increase his team's chances of winning? His best players of course! The players he has the most confidence in. He would be foolish not to do that. As covenant sons and daughters of God, you have been sent to Earth in the final part of the latter days, the final minutes of the championship game between good and evil, when the stakes are higher than they've ever been, when the battle is the most heated it's ever been because Satan knows he doesn't have much time left. You have been sent at this time and for this time. What does that say about who you are? What does that say about who you were before you came to Earth and the confidence your Father in Heaven had to send you at this time? What does that say about your mission and purpose for being here? Our dear prophet declared in a worldwide youth devotional a few years ago, "Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you!" And what another church leader said at this pulpit over twenty years ago also applies to you today, "Do you think God would have left the last days to chance by sending men and women He couldn’t count on? ... you were sent now because our Father’s most trustworthy children would be needed in the final, decisive battle for righteousness. That is who you are, and it is who you have always been." I testify that what they said is true. You have been sent here to fight in the final championship battle between good and evil and the stakes are higher than they've ever been. You are some of our father's most noble spirits, his finest team. You are latter day covenant sons and daughters of God, children of the promised day. We need you, the Lord needs you, the world needs you. Please go out and lift and influence the world for good as covenant children of God and as disciples of Jesus Christ. Don't allow Satan and the voices of the world to negatively influence you and convince you that you are merely sons and daughters of men as he tried to convince Moses. J. Anette Dennis, "Finding Peace Amidst Uncertainty" [Brigham Young University devotional, Dec. 10, 2024], speeches.byu.edu. 260825
Sister J. Anette Dennis
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in the Relief Society General Presidency POCATELLO, Idaho — Imagine a championship sports competition. Perhaps it’s the Super Bowl or the final game of the World Cup; perhaps the score is very close, with only minutes left in the game. In those pivotal moments, a coach will put his best players on the field — the players he has the most confidence in. Like those players in the last minutes of a game, today’s covenant sons and daughters have been sent to earth in the final part of the latter days, said Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency. Sister Dennis spoke to young single adults about their divine identities and missions on Thursday, May 15, as part of the Pocatello YSA Conference, held in Pocatello, Idaho. ... During her remarks, given at the ICCU Dome, Sister Dennis said that young single adults are living in “the final minutes of the championship game between good and evil, when the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, when the battle is the most heated it’s ever been, because Satan knows he doesn’t have much time left. “You have been sent at this time and for this time. What does that say about who you are? What does that say about who you were before you came to this earth, and the confidence your Father in Heaven had in you to send you in this time? What does that say about your purpose and mission of being here?”
Sister J. Anette Dennis
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