Ethan Clegg is the youth speaker in my Latter-day Saint ward’s sacrament meeting Sunday. I’ve been looking forward to it.
Ethan has not. The 11-year-old told my wife that he wasn’t scared but was worried that I would make faces from the congregation in an effort to get him to laugh. Since I sit next to his parents every Sunday, it’ll be hard for him to miss me.
Speaking to the entire congregation is something Latter-day Saint kids are raised to do. At what age depends on the inclination of the individual child.
It starts out voluntarily.