July 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

As a new member,
Sarah Lynn Alderfer
(below) says fellowshipping
others helps
give her a sense of
responsibility and
worth.
58
institute stake supervisor, says that once the
young single adults are invited to institute,
they keep coming because of the Spirit they
feel there when others share their testimonies.
“All the programs in the world can’t
give them that, but the institute program
invites them and brings them in so they can
partake,” she says. “Once they partake,
they don’t want to lose that again in their
lives. You watch the faces. There is weeping,
and there’s joy in others’ eyes. And people
linger after class. They don’t want to leave.
They want to stay and rejoice in that feeling.
That’s really what this effort is all about.”
The Rescue
The success stories of the
Chicago area’s search-and-rescue
program are numerous—but some
people have declined the invitation
to come back. President Evans says
that although the search is largely
complete, the rescuing process is far
from over. He’s not giving up on anyone.
More than 200 of the young single adults
who were not attending church have become
active, making a 33 percent increase in sacrament
meeting attendance and Church activity
among the single adults since the search-andrescue
effort began. The statistics are encouraging,
but the members know the objective
is to get to know the person behind the
number, says JD.
Sarah Lynn Alderfer is another member of
the Buffalo Grove young single adult branch
who is finding great meaning in this effort.
Sarah was baptized less than a year ago, and,
she says, “This effort has given me a sense of
responsibility and a sense of worth. Being able
to focus on all these other people and to give
of myself really strengthens me—to see one of
them come back into activity is very rewarding.”
Sarah, along with many others in the
singles branch, has spent hours looking for
and visiting other young single adults to let
them know they are cared about and needed.
Ginger Henrie and Jim Papp (above) both say they have enjoyed uplifting experiences through
participation in the Chicago stakes’ search-and-rescue efforts.