Be a captain in the gospel's cause, Mormon apostle says

PROVO, Utah — Just as the pilot of a disabled airliner was prepared to safely land, young adults need to be prepared for their spiritual destiny, Mormon apostle Neil L. Andersen said during a Church Educational System fireside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday.Speaking to college-age young adults gathered in the BYU Marriott Center, as well as to many more throughout the world by satellite broadcast and the Internet, Elder Andersen told of U.S. Air Flight 1549, which lost its engines when it flew through a flock of geese shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Jan. 15 of last year. He explained how Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger's safely landed the craft in the Hudson River, saving the lives of himself and 154 other people on board.He told his listeners that for that brief period, Sullenberger and the 154 others aboard the plane were on a journey. Sullenberger was the captain, responsible for the plane and all the people on it. He was charged with the safety of himself and the rest of the crew and passengers.Elder Andersen, a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve, then related those facts to his listeners."This mortal life is not where we began, nor is it where we will end," Elder Andersen said. "We are on a journey."He later added, "Just as our life began before our birth into mortality, our life does not end with the stopping of a heartbeat. We will continue on. Who you are, you, the distinct individual, you, will always be you."As there was a captain on Flight 1549, Elder Andersen told the young adults they also need to be leaders. "You and I have a spiritual destiny, and it does not allow us to ride passively in the back of the plane, traveling through mortality."He explained, "(you have been) chosen and foreordained to have the gospel in your life and to be a leader in the cause of the restored gospel."People face obstacles more treacherous than geese, he noted, and they must be prepared "to be a captain in the Lord's cause," preparation that comes through such things as faith, obedience, prayer, studying the scriptures and worthily partaking of the sacrament. The gift of the Holy Ghost is a blessing of spiritual preparation, he noted.."Do not dismiss nor diminish the specific role and responsibility that has been given to you," he said. "You are to be a captain in the Lord's cause, charged with holding the banner of the restored gospel high."As Sullenberger safely delivered the passengers on his plane, "captains" in the Lord's service have a sacred duty to return safely to their heavenly home and bring many others with them, Elder Andersen said.Despite obstacles along the way to fulfilling spiritual destiny, he told the young adults to "continue, persist, above all believe in Christ and learn to follow him and his prophets."