The discussion groups of the 1987 convention were held in a different manner from previous conventions. This new format turned out to be very beneficial for most, if not all of the young people. All of the conventioneers were divided into 20 groups, then each group discussed a topic for 20 minutes. Following this discussion, a reporter from each group told all the young people his or her group’s decisions.
The topics of Tuesday, August 11 were:
1) When to be on your own;
2) Christian work ethics;
3) Communication in the Christian family;
4) Peer pressure.
Although each young person did not get to discuss every topic, we all learned what was discussed and decided by way of the informative summaries given by the group reporters
The groups in which I participated discussed the second and fourth topics. What follows are some of the answers which were given in our discussion of these two topics. We decided that it is the duty of any Christian to work to the best of his or her ability in a fitting way. In this, we receive the opportunity to set an example of the hope that is in us to our fellow workers. We also decided that there are several occupations that a Christian may not be allowed to work at. These included labor union jobs, dangerous jobs such as race car driving, and a job in acting. In our second discussion, someone stated that peer pressure is a strong force from other classmates forcing us to conform to their ways. We decided that this is a very real problem in our schools, for it causes strife and envy among classmates. Each young person learned that peer pressure is unavoidable, but that we must fight the bad and do only God’s will.
These two topics, along with all the others were well chosen. This frank discussion was beneficial to our young people.