Youth in Malaysia Share Their Thoughts and Hopes for the Future

(For Non-Muslim Use Only)

Young adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Malaysia joined their Kuala Lumpur district choir to sing at an interfaith music and dance festival. The event was held in Klang on September 21, 2024, as part of International Day of Peace celebrations. Two of them also participated

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in a special youth peace exchange dialogue that occurred a few hours before the festival.

Sister Annabelle Yu, from the Church’s Puchong Branch, and Sister Wan Yng Cheng, of its Petaling Jaya Branch, joined over 100 other young adults from multiple faiths in the gathering. The event, entitled “Youth Peace Sustainability”, was organized by the United Religions Initiative (URI) and included presentations and round table discussions.

URI representative Vincent Leong welcomed the youth and expressed his desire to hear their thoughts and opinions on the subjects of peace and sustainability. He stated, “I consider you as a beacon of hope for the future.”

To prepare the audience members to participate in the round table discussions, Dr. Sharon Vaswani, a successful entrepreneur from the Philippines and co-founder of URI Global Youth Cooperation Circle, provided some introductory remarks. She pointed out that Malaysia ranked as the tenth most peaceful country out of 143 countries surveyed. However, she reminded them that in building and sustaining peace, “removing the causes of conflict, [and maintaining] peace requires constant care”. She also identified “empathy, leadership, and resilience” as key traits for youth to foster peace and sustainability.

Following Dr. Vaswani’s remarks, Leong divided the audience into several smaller round table discussion groups. Sister Yu and Sister Cheng joined a group of 11 participants representing several faiths, including Hindu, Muslim, Baha’i and Buddhist. Each group had a facilitator to discuss the following questions: how do we avoid conflicts; what qualities are needed to lead peace; and what are some ideas for sustaining peace. The two shared that they were able to rely on their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel of peace to provide meaningful and insightful answers to these topics.

After several minutes of active dialogue and exchange, each group presented some of their ideas to the whole audience. Thoughts included: be the torchbearers for peace and sustainability; exercise love and respect for each other and realize that we all are equal; show compassion and know that our actions can change the future; be willing to help and support each other and aid someone in need; stay open minded and seek to understand conflicting opinions; and to listen, stay positive and be grateful.

Regarding the round table discussions, Sister Cheng shared, “It was an interesting experience to see how different religions view the topic of peace. However, in the end we have more similarities than differences, which makes me understand in the end we are just all children of God despite the differences, and we all seek for peace in heaven.” Sister Yu expressed, “It was an honor and great experience to be a part of a wonderful reason.”

Their remarks echoed those of the Church’s leader and prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who called on members and friends alike in a global Church broadcast in April 2023 that “I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.”