Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, General Authority Seventy and member of the Pacific Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, counselled members and friends of the Church in the Cook Islands recently that they must take the time to teach their children of Jesus Christ, or their children will be taught by the disparate voices of others.

Elder Wakolo, speaking to attendees at the Cook Islands Avarua District Conference on April 22, said today’s young people are being bombarded daily by many conflicting messages. He said if parents don’t take the time to help their children understand the clear voice of Jesus Christ, their children may follow the direction of the many other voices they hear all around them.

“There are so many voices in the world that our children hear, and none of them sound clear; none of them sound distinct (see 1 Corinthians 14:10),” Elder Wakolo taught.

“But they hear these voices every day, and if they do not learn what it means to understand that ‘still small voice’ of the Holy Spirit that leads them to follow Jesus Christ, they will continually hear these other voices, and it will have such an impact on their spiritual future.”

Elder Wakolo said the voices today’s youth need to be listening to is the Holy Ghost and those of God’s representatives on the earth. He said listening to the voices of prophets and apostles will help them have clarity in all the decisions they must make.

“It’s the same voice that inspired Moses to go up on the mountain, the same voice that caused Father Lehi to take his family out of Jerusalem and into the wilderness,” he explained. “It is the same voice that Enos heard, it is the same voice the 14-year-old Joseph Smith heard in the woods of New York, USA in 1820, and it is the voice that President Russell M. Nelson hears today.

“And it is this voice that today’s youth can also hear and be led by in solving the challenges they face,” he continued.  “Remember your true identity as sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven, and the covenants you have made with His son, Jesus Christ.

“Make sure you keep your covenants utmost in your minds, that they may lead you to do good every day of your lives.”

Elder Wakolo also cited the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:18, which encourages followers of Jesus Christ to pay attention to those things that they do in private, seen only by God, out of the sight of others.

He said too many today are focused on the things which are seen by others, because they are not able to understand the power of the things which are spiritual and eternal in nature, and not on display for others to see.

“If you want to align your life with the eternal scheme of things, I invite you to focus on the things that are not seen by anyone else,” Elder Wakolo said. “And what are those things? Our personal and family prayers . . . our personal and family scripture study . . . whether you and I are eligible to worship in the temple. . . whether you and I are paying a full tithe."

Elder Wakolo said we do these things because of our faith in Jesus Christ and in His Atonement, which are commonly done within the four walls of our home, unseen and in private. “As Paul said, these are the things that matter most, are eternal in nature, and greatly affect our relationship with our Saviour, Jesus Christ,” he said.

Special guests at the Avarua Cook Islands District Conference Sunday, 23 April session included His Excellency Sir Tom Marsters, Representative of King Charles III, and his wife Lady Tuaine Marsters. Following Sunday’s conference session, the Marsters had a lengthy discussion with Elder Wakolo about his teachings regarding our relationship as sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven.

Cook Islands Minister of Justice Vaine “Mac” Mokoroa and his wife, Rimmel, were also in attendance.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints