2026 FSY Asia Conference Guides Youth to “Walk With Me” 

From June 18 to 22, 2026, an international For the Strength of Youth (FSY) Conference was held in Thailand. It was organized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Asia Area and attended by 175 youth aged 14–18 from 13 Asian regions. Over five days, the youth built new friendships, deepened their faith in Jesus Christ, and learned how to “Walk with Him.”

“This is my third year participating in FSY," said Ethan Smith, an 18-year-old American living in Taiwan. "The past two years, my parents chased me to participate. But this year, I chase myself, because I want to remember the feeling of the Spirit before I go to college.”

“There are lots of people from different countries, different cultures, and different languages," said Rachel Halder, a 17-year-old from Bangladesh. "We have spiritual parts, gospel sharing, games, and dancing. I made a lot of friends here. It was impressive."

This year’s worldwide Church youth theme is “Walk with Me” (Moses 6:34). Every aspect of the conference focused on helping youth understand and remember their divine identity. Due to the unique nature of the Asia Area, many youth from international backgrounds may reside in places where they do not speak the local language and thus, cannot attend local FSYs. Therefore, the Asia Area organized an international conference, which allows these youth to participate in English and make friends across geographic boundaries.

“I always struggled to think that I am a child of God because I faced lots of failure back there,” said Josh Rifareal, a 16-year-old Filipino living in Viet Nam.  “In FSY, I hear the basic principles: I am a child of God. I am a disciple of Christ. We need to walk with Him so that we will not fall. Those lessons really helped me remember my divine identity, that I can do great things if I follow Him.”

“FSY let me know how to better do my gospel study and be more faithful in Jesus Christ,” said Vidant Shrestha, a 14-year-old youth from Nepal, who attended FSY for his first time. “I will keep studying the gospel and do my personal prayer after FSY.”

Behind this well-executed, life-changing conference is a dedicated team that worked for a full year to plan and organize the event. This year’s committee included Area FSY Advisors Elder Garff and Sister Kamie Hubbard, Session Directing Couple Mike and Anchalee Mullen, two coordinators, nine assistant coordinators, 21 counselors, and many others. They planned every detail so youth from different areas and countries could have the strongest possible spiritual experience.

Youth were placed in mixed-age companies, each led by two young single adult (YSA) counselors. These young counselors, close in age to the youth, stayed with them throughout the event, guiding discussions, and ensuring their safety. For many participants, counselors played a key role in their growth at FSY.

“I love my counselor,” said Daut Da Silva, an 18-year-old participant from Timor-Leste. “He has much patience with me, and he always found me when I am lost. It is good to be with him.”

“Those youth come from different countries with different personalities,” said Honey Jane Junio, a counselor from the Philippines. “They are very involved and have many questions regarding the gospel. I wish they can apply what they learned here in their life, and eventually serve a mission.”

The youth also had a special opportunity to serve 40 children and teens aged seven to 18 from the Mercy Center in Bangkok. Their kindness and care brought smiles to the beneficiary children’s faces, and the youth felt deep joy as they served.

Brother Mullen, who organized the service project, said, “Our expectation was to help youth realize how important it is to forget about yourself and serve others, because that’s what Church service is about. Sometimes we serve others, but we don’t see who we’re serving. When the kids were getting on the bus, they asked, ‘Can we do this again?’ We did things that they could take home to remember and know that people love them.”

 “Those kids’ backgrounds are so complicated, but they’re still able to feel so much joy,” said Annabelle Goh, a 16-year-old from Malaysia. “It made me feel so touched that even during the hardest times, Jesus Christ touches those who are in need.”

“Bringing in the kids from the Mercy Center helped the companies to not think about themselves anymore,” said Molly Chadwick, one of the FSY coordinators. “I can tell they’re wanting to make it a good opportunity for the Mercy Center youth and children, and I think that’s really beautiful.”

She continued, “FSY provides these youth with spiritually strengthening experiences, and that can help secure their foundation and their testimony. Future leadership in the Church doesn’t happen if you don’t have that foundation.”

“As every day passes, you can see people are a lot more relaxed being in this setting,” said another coordinator Matthew Osborn. “It is memorable to see how the gospel allows them to be comfortable. They’re experiencing the love of Jesus Christ around them and they’re starting to realize what that means, and I think it changes them.”

FSY follows a consistent format worldwide, allowing youth to learn the gospel in similar ways, share common memories, and increase global unity. The conference is not usually held over a Sunday, but because of specific needs in the Asia Area, youth had the special opportunity to attend Sunday meetings with a member of the Area Presidency.

Elder David L. Buckner gave four invitations to the youth in the Sunday devotional — be curious, seek the Spirit, prepare today, and look to Him. He testified that God knows each person by name and will answer sincere questions over time. At the close of the devotional, he urged youth to remember what they learned and felt.

“Do not go back to the familiar. This is a time to become shepherds,” he said.

“I was kind of doubting my faith in the Book of Mormon,” said Branson Royce Tai, a 15-year-old from Malaysia. “But we had the Book of Mormon young men’s activity, and I gained back a lot of faith in that. I want to continue early personal gospel study in the morning, reflecting and reviewing in the nighttime.”

“I was worried about connecting with others, but I got an answer like, you can just go and be the one to talk with other people,” said Hsiao Ting Fu, an 18-year-old from Taiwan. “I can be more open to talk to others — no matter at school or in my family, and be more connected with the people.”

Looking back on his time with the youth, Elder Buckner said, “There is a hunger, a real desire to connect. They want to know each other because they are alone… They want to understand and have the scriptures come to life for them. And you can see some of the youth who have had family and generations of members in the Church coming together with ones who may be the only members of the Church, and they’re starting to realize what they’ve always taken for granted.”

He expressed hope that the youth will remember they are not alone, rely on the Spirit and one another, and keep moving forward as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Sister Mullen said, “Everyone needs to remember and recognize at all times that we are all children of God. That comes with recognizing. So I hope they can practice recognizing how God talks to them, that whatever they do or whatever they gain, it’s the blessing from God.”

Brother Mullen said, “They’re not alone. God is always with them. These youth are the future leaders of those local Church units, and they need to know that there’s others like them, and they can reach out to them. I would want them to remember who they are — their identity. If they seek Him, they will find Him. I pray that they will have faith to know that they will find Him every time.”