Mormon Life - Young Women tag

Book Details Mormon Teens' Sacrifice, Discipline and Energy

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:21:00 -0600

source: newsroom.lds.org/blog/

In Kenda Creasy Dean's new book, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, one chapter focuses on the religious dedication of teenagers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Throughout the book, Dean references survey results from the National Study of Youth and Religion (conducted from 2002 to 2005). The survey, given to 3,300 teenagers ages 13 to 17, provides the following insights into the lives of Mormon teenagers:

- Eighty percent of Latter-day Saint teens talk about religion with their families more than once per week.

- Seventy-three percent of Latter-day Saint teens are "significantly more likely" than other teens to hold religious views similar to that of their parents.

- Sixty-eight percent of Mormon teens fast and practice other forms of self-denial.

YW President Dalton: Anxiously engaged in a good cause

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:15:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

During the past months, leaders of young women have used the 2010 Mutual Theme from Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and of a good courage," to focus and give emphasis to youth activities including camps, Mutual events, pioneer treks, youth conferences and firesides. This Mutual theme has been a blessing to all the youth and given them courage to make righteous decisions and to share the gospel with their friends and family members.

To some it has been a lifeline as they have faced trials, temptations, health challenges and loss of friends and loved ones. To others it has given them the strength and courage to repent and change and come back into activity or to join the Church.

Leaders all over the world have planned and worked together with parents and priesthood leaders to bless and strengthen the youth. And it has happened! As a Young Women general presidency, we are most grateful to each and every one who has sacrificed to help our youth have experiences that will enable them to stay firm in their resolve to remain strong in their faith and steadfast to stand as witnesses at all times and in all things and in all places. Thank you!

YW Lesson 2-32 "The Importance of Life"

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:53:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

We've been around long enough to know that this unit, the "Living a Virtuous Life" unit each year, poses some of the greatest teaching challenges to you and usually includes lessons that many of you find to be poorly written, or which contain troubling weird stories, or which need so much adaptation that you wonder if there's anything salvageable in them.

Yeah, Lesson 32 is pretty much like that. Your comments on our poll hint that many of you struggle with how to make the kickoff chastity lessons relevant to the girls in your particular classes.

Amelia says, "I'm desperately looking for help on 'The Importance of Life' lesson. Almost half of it is one huge story that I know will lose our girls."

Vieve agrees, "Yep, would've loved your input on Lesson 32! The long story wouldn't just 'lose' the girls, it actually has a subtext that distresses me (we'll skip it!)" She adds, "We're going to focus on creation and our role in it. We're also going to talk about the perfectionisms we get sucked into, and how it can lead us to try to cover our sins (eg having an abortion to hide that one is sexually active). Our bishop gave the YW a lovely lesson on repentance being a good thing, and I'll make reference to that."

To the YW, Love Joan of Arc

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:16:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

This letter was received and transcribed by Carol Lynn Wright Pearson in Walnut Creek, California, a close friend of Joan, the Maid of Orleans.

The Month of June in the Year of our Lord, 2010

Dear Young Women of Payson, Utah, United States of America,

I was deeply honored to be informed that you have chosen me as your “hero, mentor and source of inspiration” for your camp week. Over the centuries, as I have observed the comings and going of history, I have watched in amazement as many works have been created in my memory –operas, plays, statues. I never intended such. But as I see the eyes of the visitors who pause at the gold-gilded statue of me on my horse, banner raised, at the Place des Pyramides in Paris, or the eyes of an audience watching a play that details my life–I see something so fine! I see sparks of a fire. Not the fire that consumed my poor and weary body at the end. But the sparks of a better fire–one that inspires people to find the light within them and hold it high and be true to it.

And so I am happy to join you in “camp.” How often, after a day of battle, I sat in camp by the fire with my beloved soldiers. And so I will feel very much at home spending some hours with you beside your campfire. If I can be your “source of inspiration” for a week, for a day, or for a moment–that will make me smile.

YW Lesson 2 - 30 "Strengthening Testimony Through Service"

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:00:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

You guys aren't going to believe this. I love this lesson. From the beginning section immersed in the scriptures to the wonderful story by one of my favorites - Ardeth G. Kapp, to the great talks included in the resource materials (bonus points for one being by a woman!). Little Miss Nitpicker over here doesn't have anything to complain about.

I have always loved that quote from President Kimball that is included in Elder Snow's talk.

“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”

I think that is just one of the purest distillations of the gospel. It reminded me of President Uchtdorf's talk from last conference, You Are My Hands.

Upon first reading, this suggestion might seem a little out of left field, but I think that Kristine gives us so much dense material in her blog post The Liturgy of the Jello that we can extrapolate her point and deliver it in an an age appropriate way. These small acts of service matter.

Girls really do have more fun

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:03:00 -0600

source: millennialstar.org

At least at Girls Camp, they do. This is one of the first things I learned as a priesthood observer at our ward’s Girls Camp this week. Scout Camp: fun, not very organized. Girls Camp: organized and a lot more fun with some amazing spiritual moments.

I’d like to address one of those spiritual moments first. The young women’s leaders recreated Lehi’s “tree of life” dream in a very special way.

The young women were told they were going on a “night hike.” They were taken about a half-mile from camp. One by one, they were blindfolded. A leader took their hand and led them to a rope. This rope went into the woods for about 600 yards or so. They were told they had to hold onto the rope and keep on walking until the end.

Weathering life

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:56:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

A youth leader walked across her ward's Young Women campsite, located high in the mountains. The rain and wind had made most of the activities planned for camp that day impossible. Everything was muddy.

She thought of "Campalot," the camp's theme drawn from Camelot. During the weeklong activity, the young women — like King Arthur's legendary court who lived in the famous castle Camelot — were to participate in activities intended to remind them of their royal birthright and heritage. The goal was for each young woman to return home with a greater sense of her worth.

But no one had planned for cold and rain.

Now the leader gathered up wet crowns, made earlier by the youth, and threw them away.

Like the crowns, the leader's spirits were damp. She had spent the last hour replacing tent stakes and dealing with wet sleeping bags.

She sat in her tent and listened to the storm; hail pounded the tent walls. She knew the young women in her ward were safe and warm and dry, but feared they were missing some of camp's most valuable lessons.

YW President Elaine S. Dalton: Ribbons, recognition and relationships

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:57:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: Love the story of this great bishop. On a recent auxiliary training assignment to Africa, I met a new young bishop who shared his enthusiasm for the Personal Progress and Duty to God programs for the youth. He felt that since he was asking the youth to participate in these programs, he needed to become familiar with them as their bishop. Consequently, he started to work on both his Personal Progress and his Duty to God.

He said that he hadn't realized what the youth really do and their great accomplishments. He also shared that whenever he completed an experience in Personal Progress, he asked a young woman to verify his completion and sign his Personal Progress book. He had recently completed one of the value experiences in Personal Progress and had asked a young woman in his ward to sign his book.

He shared with her the things he had learned and done and then she asked to see his journal entry regarding this experience because that was part of the requirement. He replied, "Well, I did not write about this in my journal. I don't have one." The young woman replied, "Well then Bishop, I cannot sign your Personal Progress book. Come back when you have completed all the requirements."

He said that he learned a great lesson. He also shared that whenever a youth completes an experience in either Personal Progress or Duty to God, he now has the leaders notify him. He personally calls them and congratulates them on their accomplishment, because now he realizes how much effort and diligence a completed value experience represents.

YW Lesson 2-29 "Exaltation"

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:40:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

This lesson has a lot of rich doctrine: the plan of salvation, the difference between immortality and exaltation, how to gain exaltation, the necessity of covenants and ordinances. Depending on your young women, you can spend varying amounts of time introducing and reviewing those concepts . To supplement the lesson doctrinally, Preach my Gospel (lesson 2: The Plan of Salvation) has a straight-forward (and a little more substantive) treatment of the plan of salvation and exaltation as well as some key definitions.

For those more been there, done that young women who may feel they already know the material (I know some Laurels that may fit into that group) you could put together a quiz from the definitions to see where to focus your time. Or draw the five circles of the plan of salvation and see how much they can complete, then fill in the gaps and create discussion.

The objective of the lesson is that "each young woman will desire exaltation." That's a particularly lofty objective! As I thought about the lesson, I realized that if I was going to try to build that kind of motivation and urgency about exaltation I would want to stimulate more discussion and engagement beyond the core doctrine of the lesson.

Youth in Action (Mormon Messages for Youth)

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:57:00 -0600

source: MormonLife.com

YW Lesson 2-28 "Agency"

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:37:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

This lesson is pretty heavily reliant on role playing and discussions, so I know I'm going to have to come up with something else to fill the time. I have never once had a group that would go for role playing, and I currently have one Laurel, so that's not going to go over well.

As luck or Providence would have it, I was just listening to an old episode of the excellent Mormon Stories podcast that was a conversation with Gregory Prince, the author of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism.

I have heard this quote from the lesson:

President David O. McKay explained: “Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man. … Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give”

YW Lesson 2-27 "Strengthening Testimony through Obedience"

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:31:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

Hi, I’m Annie. Jeans is enjoying some time away with her family so I’m honored to jump in for a couple of weeks to chat about the upcoming YW lessons. I have loved using her posts as a jumping off point in my own YW lessons—and I won’t even try to fill her great shoes here—but I am thrilled to participate in starting the discussion.

Ah, obedience. It’s every adolescent’s favorite topic, isn’t it? When I think about my own conversations with my teenage daughters about issues of obedience, I think they most often want to know why. As I prepared this lesson, a couple of young women from my ward kept coming to mind—bright and inquisitive girls who are going through the process of asking obedience questions: why obey the commandments? What’s the point? What will happen if I don’t? I wanted to address those concerns in a real and convincing way.

This lesson actually does a lovely job beginning to answer those questions by discussing the relationship between obedience and testimony. Like the lesson on sacrifice a few weeks ago, the underlying theme this week is that obedience brings blessings and freedoms that surpass any perceived cost. The main point is that obedience and testimony are interrelated and feed each other.

Young Women Advice - Am I Doing it Right?

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:59:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

I am feeling a little frustrated, a little sad, a little guilty, a little confused. I've been YW president in my ward for two years now, and was recently told that I probably wouldn't be in my calling much longer. Of course I will be sad to be released. I really have nothing but LOVE for all of my 30 girls, and I will so so so miss being involved in their lives, seeing their successes and watching them stand strong, aching for them to love each other as true sisters in the gospel, and all the rest that goes along with it.

That being said, I was sitting here wondering if I'm just an epic failure as a leader. In the past months, some of the YW (and even one of the leaders) have complained that the activities we do are "a waste of time". Somehow, this is completely my fault. Now, granted, I'm sure that not every activity has been spectacular, but I have tried to encourage my counselors and class presidencies to balance their activities. [I'm editing this for length, but here our questioner lists some activities they've done and the list is impressive. - RD] I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. I'd love to do more elaborate activities BUT I have realized our parents don't want their kids out crazy hours and since none of these things are close by, they are definitely not things girls can come to during the school year. Then in the summer there's youth conference, camps, vacations, etc... AND we don't have the parental support of driving the YW to these cool activities and we don't have the funds to pay for 30 girls to do some of these things.

YW Lesson 2-26 "The Sacrament"

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:03:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

I really like the objective of this lesson: "Each young woman will participate with deeper understanding in the ordinance of the sacrament." It's so easy to let it go by taking it entirely for granted week after week - but if you really consider what the sacrament is for and what it's doing, it's amazing that we take it as casually as we sometimes do. It can be a ho-hum experience or it can be a genuine opportunity to bring something to the altar, to be serious about preparation and to really hunger/thirst for its spiritual nourishment, and to re-make one's baptismal covenant with renewed humility and determination. I think poor hapless "Pam" in the lesson is like many of us - quiet, reverent even, during the sacrament, but something's missing. This lesson's a chance to inject "deeper understanding" into that moment within each week.

I've got four ideas.

1) Connect it to Passover. At Passover time this spring, I gave a short Wednesday-night Mutual presentation on the Jewish Seder and as I went along I explained the connection between the Passover Seder and the Last Supper. I think it gave the youth a new perspective on that supper, and therefore on the sacrament, to realize that it was a Passover dinner. Try Terry Treseder, "Passover Promises Fulfilled in the Last Supper" (Ensign April 1990) if you want to go that route in your lesson, maybe even with props (matzoh, grape juice, bitter herbs, salt water, a hard-boiled egg).iv>

My ward is going to be translated for this…

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:17:00 -0600

source: bycommonconsent.com

Mormon Life says: The way all Young Women should "graduate." This week our Relief Society lesson was combined with the Young Women in the ward. On the table stood three large, framed photographs of our three recently graduated Laurels. Next to those were three identical stacks of books, each tied with a ribbon. On the side table were many platters of sliced sweet breads ready to be served. Ladies, welcome to the awesomeness that is Relief Society.

First, the bread was passed around. Someone even took some platters to the Primary sisters. Way to rock it ladies.

The lesson started with a message from one of the Relief Society counselors (the president was out of town) about the mission and purpose of Relief Society. It was short, heartfelt, and beautifully expressed. She then presented these transitioning young women with the stacks of books. Each received an Ensign (Goodbye, New Era!), a Gospel Principles manual, and a nice leather journal.

YW Lesson 2-25, "The Law of Sacrifice"

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:02:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

With this lesson, we continue our discussion of doing hard things for the right reasons. In our ward, I heard a terrific talk on this subject recently. Ostensibly it was a talk about patience, "waiting upon the Lord" and trusting in Him, and the speaker talked about the scripture in Luke 21:19 "in patience possess ye your souls." Ironically, or counterintuitively, we "possess" our souls only by giving them entirely to the Lord. I think sacrifice contains a similar paradox, that when you truly sacrifice in the right spirit and with the right intent, it doesn't feel like giving anything up, because you lose all sense of possessiveness over the thing you are sacrificing.

Which makes me wonder the following--and I'm not being flippant, because this is something I've never really felt like I've been able completely to grasp about sacrifice. The lesson says, "It is hard and may hurt a little, especially if what we are giving up is very dear to us." So doesn't that mean that we're not sufficiently mature, or consecrated yet? Isn't feeling that sacrificing something is hard a sign that we're not quite doing it right?

New Personal Progress program emphasises mentorship

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:37:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

"And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also" (Doctrine and Covenants 84:106).

The new, revised Personal Progress encourages every young woman to become a mentor.

A mentor is defined as a wise or trusted teacher or counselor. Mentors are usually people who have gone before and know the path. They are guides. For young women, the righteous influence and example of their peers and others is critical in a world with shifting moral ethics and values. Mentoring ensures that no one is left alone on the path of progression.

Mentoring is not a new idea. The scriptures and Church history are replete with examples of great men and women whose lives were blessed by mentors. These individuals helped prepare others for their future missions. Mary had Elizabeth. Naomi was Ruth's mother-in-law and her mentor. Naomi helped Ruth know what to do in a very difficult time. Joshua had Moses as his mentor. Alma mentored Amulek and helped him understand and teach the gospel. The angel Moroni was a mentor to the young Joseph Smith. These mentors encouraged and taught the things they had learned from experience. They passed on their knowledge to another so that each could be edified and better prepared to fulfill their divine roles and missions.

Red Cross honors Calif. teen for Young Women values project

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:48:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

A young Mormon teen from Turlock, Calif., was recently honored for raising more than $5,000 for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

A local Red Cross chapter awarded 15-year-old Anne Thomas with "The Spirit of Red Cross," an honor traditionally given to adults performing "extraordinary life saving acts," according to the Stanislaus County Chapter.

Thirteen others were also recognized at an awards breakfast June 2.

"I realized that more important than the accomplishment of raising so much money was developing charity toward all of God's children, looking past my own selfish desires and worldly cares and really caring about someone else," Thomas said.

the dating dilemma, though not the one you'd expect

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:21:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

Mormon Life says: Talking specifically about youth dating. If you get the New Era, you noticed that the April issue was entirely devoted to teaching youth how, when and why to date, with an eye-catching cover showing a blond young man, concealing a rose behind his back, knocking on a big red door.

The issue featured dating advice and dating memories from General Authorities and from the General YM/YW leadership, Q&A treating teen anxieties about dating, tips for becoming more datable, lots of date ideas at various cost levels, a piece about why teen dating should be about friendship rather than snagging a steady boyfriend/girlfriend, and an entertaining article on what girls want to know about boys ("What the Deal With Boys?") and vice-versa.

It seemed a well-planned issue, rather lighthearted and mercifully devoid of the scary sentimental horror stories that lurk in the YW manuals about dating gone horribly awry. One family of our acquaintance designed a Family Home Evening activity around it for their daughter that involved a scavenger hunt/quiz about the issue, to get her to read the whole thing. Other youth in my kids' circle of friends needed no such urging and thumbed it thoroughly or read it cover to cover several times.

YW Lesson 2-24 "Revelation in Our Daily Lives"

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:43:00 -0600

source: beginningsnew.blogspot.com

This lesson is a workshop on getting answers, direction, and inspiration in everyday life. If prayer is people-to-heaven communication, then revelation is the reverse-flow process. It's also what we call the end product of that process - i.e. the thing you obtain is revelation, and so are the means by which you obtain it.

There are two scripture workshops embedded in the lesson, really - in the first, class members identify a range of methods by which people in the scriptures obtained revelation or communicated with God. In the second, class members learn how to prepare themselves to do the same, and to recognize it when it comes in answer to their petitions.