Dear Gramps,
I have two questions to ask you today: 1) I am going to YSA Convention next month and I am kind off nervous. Well, I will be away from my family, friends and church members from my branch. Is this normal for me to go though these emotions? Are there any verses from the scriptures that can help me?
2) And also Gramps I have a friend who is a non-member of the church, who recently said that he was in love with me. And he has plans to marry me and settle down with me. And I was shocked to know that he had these feelings for me, But my guy friend is what you call it has ‘loose morals’ and I want to help him. But I don’t know where to start. I do care for him deeply, but I only marry if he is a member of the church, and are there any verses from the scriptures that can help me to teach my friend to become a member of the church and have good sense of morals to be upon him? Please help me in this area gramps,
A sister in need of moral advice, from Narrabri, New South Wales, Australia

Dear Sister,
It is quite normal to be nervous about the unknown. So, after you attend the first YSA Convention, those that follow should be pieces of cake. It’s hard to recommend one or two scriptures, as so many would apply, but we might add the obvious, from Proverbs 3:5—

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

So, you would go with a spirit of confidence, which is a part of faith, and with a prayerful heart, pleading that you will have power to resist temptation and live righteously, and all will be well.
Concerning your second question. Just because some guy has revealed his plans to be together with you, you have the same right to reveal to him your plans to have nothing to do with him. You are under no obligation to follow anyone into the paths of sin. The stakes in this relationship are really very high. You could go with him and lose all your chances for an eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. Please do not believe that because he says he loves you that you will have any power to teach him the principles of morality such that he would change his character and become an honorable person. Leave that exercise to the missionaries. One approach that you could take would be something like this—
Tell him that you think that he is really a very nice person, but that you have a moral commitment to be sealed to your companion for time and all eternity in one of the Lord’s holy temples. The only conditions under which you would have any more to do with him, since he appears to be serious about a relationship, would be after he had entertained the Mormon missionaries, believed the message of the gospel, was then baptized and proved his sincerity and his fidelity to the new cause by remaining true and faithful to his commitments in the kingdom for at least a year. At that time you would be glad to meet with him again and discuss any possible future relationship.
Gramps