World Congress of Families IX Convenes in Salt Lake City
“God carries us when we cannot walk,” Evangelist Nick Vujicic told a standing-room-only audience Tuesday night in the ballroom of the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Born with Tetra-amelia syndrome—leaving him without arms and legs—Vujicic motivated the attendees of the ninth World Congress of Families with experiences that have taught him that there is “value in every human life.”
The World Congress of Families is the premier gathering of scholars, ecclesiastical leaders, parliamentarians, and advocates of life and the natural family, and in its first conference on U.S. soil, more than 3,000 participants, from as far away as Africa, Australia, China and Europe, have gathered to hear over 200 presentations, including keynote speakers like Vujicic.
“Know that you are a child of God,” Vujicic counseled, “With that understanding you will blossom with kindness, capacity and vision to make a difference.” The son of an Evangelical minister, he said that his parents did not know that he would be born the way he was. “They just wanted me to know there was a reason I was born this way. They prayed and fasted that God would give me arms and legs but they accepted the fact that even without, God has a plan for me.”
Vujicic authored the book, Life Without Limbs, and established a non-profit organization with the same name. He is a popular speaker on TED, starred in the film “The Butterfly Circus,” and has been the subject of a 20/20 profile.
“Never in a million years would my parents have believed that their little boy would become an evangelist,” he said. “Love God with everything you’ve got. Love your family with everything you’ve got. Then love everyone else. God will show the path.”
Elder M. Russell Ballard, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day also offered a keynote address, encouraging participants to be “dedicated to nurturing, protecting, and promoting traditional families,” adding that, “If those who oppose us are genuine in their commitment to the values of diversity and equality, we should be able to work together to find compassion and peace.”
Utah Governor Gary Herbert and his wife, Jeanette, welcomed the gathering by likening the family to fertile farm soil, providing the seed bed for future generations of citizens and leaders. Moments later, that future—a panel of millennials, comprised of individuals from over 500 young men and women attending the conference—addressed contemporary issues they believe undermine the family, including selfishness, the proliferation of social media, pornography, and other influences.
“Pornography is one of the biggest causes of injustice in our world. It produces the opposite of what we need to become,” said Nathan Porter, a student at the University of Utah.
(Source: Christian Newswire)
