Apathy Among YSAs

Research suggests that it is not uncommon for YSA’s to feel a lack
of purpose and belonging within the Church. In this episode,
renowned author and psychologist Wendy Ulrich shares insight on how
leaders can best minister to YSAs who may be struggling with a
sense of purpose and belonging. At the Table is a new podcast
series produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
find podcasts. Please give us your feedback about this episode by
filling out this short questionnaire:
https://research.churchofjesuschrist.org/jfe/form/SV_3Dza9x3tD4YBjzE
Highlights 01:30 Introduction to Wendy Ulrich. Wendy is a
psychologist. She has served on the Relief Society General Advisory
Council. She is the author of many books and has taught at BYU. She
now teaches institute with her husband in Provo, UT. 02:25 Is there
apathy in the YSA wards? Apathy can come from not feeling engaged
or that what you are doing has meaning. 06:10 For a lot of people
apathy is more about fear. Fear of getting involved. 08:50 Do you
feel like you could answer if someone asked you what your purpose
and goals are? A lot of times apathy comes from not knowing our
purpose. 12:20 Dating your dreams. We have to explore our dreams
and it takes time. 13:50 Where does your deep enthusiasm for the
gospel come from? Grappling with the question of not "what do I
want now?", but "what do I want most?" 22:20 Harvard research shows
that relationships are the most consistently important things in
people’s lives. Relationships help them find meaning, well-being,
and purpose. Wendy speaks about how we find meaning and purpose.
27:00 How can leaders help YSA members to find meaning and purpose?
33:30 The parable of the talents. Doing something small is better
than doing nothing. It's OK to take risks and fail rather than
sitting around doing nothing. We have to get over our fears of
doing hard things. 35:30 Where do you start when you are trying to
find your divine identity? We can ask ourselves what we’ve learned
from the difficult things that we have gone through. Can you tell a
redemptive story about your life? We decide what the meaning of the
story is. 40:30 Christ has promised us a redemptive power through
his atonement. We can change horrible events and hard stories into
redemptive stories through Him. 42:10 What is the relation between
redemptive stories and grit? What meaning are you giving your
experiences? 46:00 Failing forward. It’s not about failure, it’s
about redemption. Seeing your failure as a learning experience and
getting up again. Leaders can help YSA members by asking more
questions instead of trying to give all the answers. 48:00 The
story of the Brother of Jared. The Lord asks him what he wants to
do about the problem of having light. Then the Lord steps in and
helps him with the rest. The Lord and Christ don’t just give us
answers. They ask questions and try to empower us.