Commonwealth Day was held recently at the Charles Sturt University Centre for Christianity and Culture Chapel in Canberra. One hundred and fifty people of many religious faiths attended the event including Latter-day Saint leaders and members.
The theme for this years’ celebration was ‘Youth and the Common Wealth: ‘Enduring Values and New Ideas’. The audience included leaders from all of the major religions as well as cultural performances representing various Commonwealth countries.
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- Buddhist
- Bahai
- sihk
- Jewish_representative
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- muslim
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- Holly
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| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The Commonwealth day celebration is supported by the Royal Commonwealth Society (ACT), the Commonwealth Roundtable in Australia, the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and the ACT Government.
According to Wikipedia, “Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of British Nations held on the second Monday in March.”
Stake (diocese) President Glen O’Grady of the Canberra Australia Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) spoke at the event regarding two tenets of the Church that are designed to help the youth, ages 8 to 18.
“A gift that parents in our Church often give to their young children is a ring with the inscription CTR, which stands for Choose the Right.
“The ‘For Strength of Youth’ pamphlet is provided for youth ages 12 to 18. It articulates standards that exemplify the quality of the contribution young people can make to our Church and to the Commonwealth. These standards come from the great plan of happiness designed by a loving Heavenly Father, embodied in the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
He said these standards relate to sexual purity, dressing modestly, choosing entertainment and social media wisely, integrity and honesty, using clean language, being a true friend, living by our ‘Word of Wisdom’ health code (which comprises abstaining from alcohol, cigarettes and other harmful and addictive substances) a strong commitment to family, education, service to others and faith.
“I recognise”, he continued, “that it’s not easy in today’s world for youth to live by a set of standards that necessitates sacrifice, discipline and energy.
"Especially when the values youth chose to cherish may be regarded as old fashioned, or when their devotion requires them to stand apart from activities that may be regarded commonplace in todays’ world.
“However, the strength of our youth and indeed, our nation, can be measured by the strength of all our sons and daughters to arise and shine forth and be a light and a standard by choosing the right.”
Watch a video about the divine nature of the youth the Church.